Election Forecast 2008: Ohio Is THE Battleground State (CQPolitics.com)

By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff Mon Aug 4, 12:02 AM ET CQ Politics Presidential Race Rating: No Clear Favorite Electoral Votes: 20 Ohio's close presidential contest in 2004 made it the last among the states to be decided, and Bush's win by slightly more than 2 percentage points over Kerry gave him the 20 electoral votes that clinched his re-election. The fact that no Republican has ever won the presidency without winning that state, more than any other, speaks to the importance -- and the uncertainty -- of winning Ohio. The last Democrat to win the presidency while losing Ohio was John F. Kennedy in 1960. Ohio is one of just four states that has backed the presidential election winner in each of the past 11 elections dating to 1964, in a bloc that also includes Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee. Ohio's exalted place in presidential... [read full story]