Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy might have been an hour late on Saturday morning, but a crowd of nearly 300 Obama supporters at Fairhill Center on Cleveland's east side still roared their appreciation of his stump speech for Barack Obama.
Sen Ted Kennedy: March 4th is the date. Ohio is the state. And Barack Obama is our candidate. Are you going to stand there with him?
With just over two weeks to go until the Democratic primary, the Obama campaign is looking to make inroads into Senator Hillary Clinton's commanding lead among Ohio voters. A poll from Quinnipiac University shows Clinton leading in the Buckeye state by 21 points. Since Friday, Ted Kennedy and Obama's wife Michelle have campaigned in the state, and local leaders like Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones led an organizing pep rally for Obama supporters on Cleveland's east side.
Peter Lawson Jones: We need as a president somebody who can put the right face on America throughout this world.Somebody who can put a moral, ethical face on America. Somebody that can show the America of compassion, the America of love, the America of peace, the America that brings people together and that's the kind of America and that's the kind of American president we need.
And last week, the Obama campaign released several ads in the state's television and radio markets. In Northeast Ohio, Barack Obama outspent opponent Hillary Clinton nearly three to one, forking out over $480 thousand dollars for ads on local stations.
Ad: He passed up a career on Wall Street to work as an organizer, helping laid off workers and lifting a community devastated by steel plant closings. And Barack Obama's committment to economic fairness is just as strong today.
Reaching out to Ohio's blue collar voter, as in this radio ad, is the major challenge for the Obama campaign, says Ohio State University political science professor Paul Beck. Traditional union democrats are right now leaning towards Clinton.
Paul Beck: That particular group, and it's a very large group, is one that both candidates are courting very assiduously and one understands why because they could be the pivotal group within the Ohio electorate.
But Obama got a boost from the labor camp last week with key endorsements from the Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers, a politically active union with 69 thousand Ohio members. Obama Spokesman Ben Labolt.
Ben Labolt - Endorsements don't mean automatic votes, but they certainly add to your ground organization, your ability to communicate with more voters and to get out the vote and we believe with campaigns having only a month really to organize across the state with paid staff on the ground that could provide an edge.
The union endorsements thrilled SEIU member Eugene Jordan who attended one of the weekend Obama rallies in Cleveland. Jordan criticized Hillary's husband President Bill Clinton, for passing NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying it was harmful for local workers.
Eugene Jordan - Most of all, we're looking for someone to change Washington. Especially with the jobs going overseas and the economy the way it is. I mean, we believe this man is really pro-union.
Northeast Ohio voter Diana Ezell of Bedford Heights says she has long admired Hillary Clinton, but for her, Obama is the right candidate at the right time.
Diana Ezell - I think she's a very dynamic woman, but Obama supplies all of the information and all of the interest and the momentum and the enthusiasm that I'm looking for.
Ezell and other Obama supporters are hoping that momentum from Obama wins in other states will carry over to Ohioans looking to cast their votes in the March 4th democratic primary. Mhari Saito 90.3.