Politics

Early Ohio Numbers Show Path For Trump, Trouble For Clinton

No featured image available

Early voting numbers in Ohio released Friday confirm that Democrat voters are not enthusiastic about their candidate, presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

The number of ballots cast in Cuyahoga County, where the city of Cleveland is located, is well behind the number of ballots cast by the same time in 2012. Cuyahoga County, which voted 68.8 percent for Obama in 2012, is one of the key Democratic Party strongholds along with Franklin County (Columbus) and Summit County (Akron).

As of last Friday, voters in counties that were carried by President Obama in 2012 are requesting at least 4 percent fewer ballots this time around, according to a Cleveland.com report.

Revelations that Ohio Democrats are not participating in early voting to the same levels that they did when President Obama was on the ballot comes as the FBI announced that it is reopening its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

Republican nominee Donald Trump may benefit from the senate race underway in Ohio, which is receiving nationwide attention. Republican Sen. Rob Portman is enjoying a double-digit lead over Democratic opponent Ted Strickland. In a stunning admission, Strickland told supporters during a campaign stop Thursday that he is “not sure” if he can beat Portman.

While Portman is in a strong position to hold onto his Senate seat, that doesn’t necessarily mean Trump will have it easy. In a year where Trump bucked the establishment and openly lambasted GOP establishment political figures ranging from former President George W. Bush to his primary opponents, which included popular Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Recent polls show Trump with either a slight edge over Clinton or a tied race for the Buckeye state. The most recent poll cited by Real Clear Politics is a Remington Research poll that shows Trump with a four-point advantage over Clinton, 46 to 42 points. Other recent polls show a tied race, with both candidates receiving 45 percent support from likely Ohio voters in a Suffolk University poll taken just before the third debate.

Concerns that Clinton’s campaign lacks enthusiasm are widespread and long-standing. Juxtaposed against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sander’s lively primary campaign rallies, it was obvious to objective observers that Clinton wasn’t garnering large, enthusiastic support from the voters. (RELATED: Trump Closes Gap With Clinton In Michigan)

In what has turned out to be an election season full of twists and unprecedented “firsts,” a video recently went viral where iconic liberal filmmaker, Michael Moore explained to an Ohio crowd on why he believed Trump was going to win the election.

“You live here in Ohio, you know what I’m talking about,” Michael Moore explained. “He’s [Donald Trump] saying the things to people who are hurting, It’s why every hurting, beaten down, nameless working stiff who used to be part of the Middle Class loves Trump,” Moore asserted.

“Although they lost their jobs, although they’ve been foreclosed on by the bank, the cars been re-possessed, they haven’t had a real vacation in years, they’ve essentially lost everything they have, except one thing … the right to vote.”

“A millionaire has the same number of votes as a person without a job, and there’s more of the former middle class, than there is of the millionaire class,” Moore said, explaining who will come out and vote for Trump. “Trump’s election is going to be the biggest F*ck you in human history, and it will feel good.”

Clinton’s campaign is noticing Trump’s upward trend in states across the country. Campaigning in South Carolina with First Lady Michelle Obama Thursday, Clinton warned a small group of supporters against “over-confidence,” urging the crowd to vote because the outcome is yet to be decided.

Follow Ted on Twitter

Send Tips to [email protected].