With less than three weeks to go for the US presidential election, the state of Ohio, one of the so-called "battleground swing states" is being bitterly fought over by Barack Obama and John McCain.
Ohio voted for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996 and for George Bush in 2000 and 2004. Its precious 20 Electoral College votes could determine who ends up in the White House after the November election. President Bush won in Ohio in 2004 by a mere 118,600 votes. Had 60,000 Ohioans voted Democratic four years ago, John Kerry would have been President.
Unlike four years ago when national security was the number one issue, this time around the economy is clearly the dominant topic and especially so in a state such as Ohio.
"As Ohio goes, so does the nation," Herb Asher, a political science professor at Ohio State University, said. "Ohio is the number one state for TV commercials during this campaign. Both parties are heavily mobilising themselves here." Ohio has voted for the winning candidate in all 11 Presidential elections since 1960.The reason is that Ohio is a microcosm of America. It is a very diverse state with big cities, farms, small towns and a manufacturing industry that has been in decline for the past decade.
"The election in Ohio is still up for grabs. It will be a close election here," Prof. Asher said. John McClelland, the communications director of the Ohio Republican Party, is convinced the economy will be the main issue in the election. He acknowledges that Ohio has lost thousands of jobs in the manufacturing industry over the last 10 years but that Mr McCain is the best candidate to address this "new reality".
"It's easy to be a populist like Barack Obama and promise a lot of things to everyone," he says. "It's also easy to blame all our economic problems on President Bush. However, the Democrats have controlled Congress for the last two years and things have got worse."
Mr McClelland said that unlike Mr Obama, Mr McCain did not believe in protectionism and would not raise taxes. "There is also the question of Mr Obama's lack of experience. He is simply not ready to be President of the US."
Doug Kelly, the executive director of the Ohio Democratic Party, is confident that Mr Obama will win in Ohio and nationwide. "Democrats used to lose in Ohio but things changed in 2006 when we elected a Democratic US Senator and a Democratic Governor. We have built up our party into a formidable machine in this state and we do door-to-door canvassing targeting independent voters. We are not only concentrating in the cities, which is what we did in 2004 - a big mistake - but also in the rural areas," he said.
"Republicans don't send out any positive messages on the economy. We believe Barack Obama is better suited to deal with our economic crisis. Remember that John McCain supported George Bush 95 per cent of the time."
Mark Niquette, a political journalist with The Columbus Dispatch, believes that Mr McCain must win Ohio if he is to capture the White House. "Barack Obama might afford to lose Ohio because he will probably win other important swing states but Senator McCain must win Ohio."
Mr Niquette believes that the fact that 230,000 jobs have been lost in the manufacturing industry in Ohio will hurt the Republicans. Voter turnout will also be crucial. "A higher than usual turnout among African-American voters will help Mr Obama," he predicted.
However, he says that it is still to be seen whether some white blue-collar voters who had supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries will choose to stay at home on voting day rather than voting for Mr Obama.
The most recent poll conducted by The Columbus Dispatch gives Mr Obama a seven-point lead over Mr McCain. On the other hand, another poll conducted by a consortium of newspapers in Ohio, shows Mr McCain leading by two points.
Tim Burger, the chief of staff of the Ohio AFL-CIO (trade union), believes that people want change in Ohio. "Ohio is not a democratic state and it will be difficult for Mr Obama to win but we are in bad shape here and I believe people do want change," he admitted.
"The election is about the repudiation of Republican ideology since Ronald Reagan such as deregulation and tax cuts for the rich. We are doing everything possible to persuade our members to vote for Barack Obama. This election is all about change."
The AFL-CIO in Ohio has 700,000 active members and about 2.1 million people on its files, including retired members and associate members. Mr Obama campaigned in Ohio on Sunday, where he went on door-to-door house visits, and on Monday, when he proposed additional measures to jump-start the economy. Both Bill Clinton and Mrs Clinton are to campaign for Mr Obama in Ohio today.