Athens County and the Democratic Party have become good friends in recent years, giving the county a predictable role in this year's election, campaign officials said.
When analysts look at which counties are swing counties and which are Democratic or Republican
they know Athens will go Democratic said Michael Burton, a political science professor at Ohio University.
The Ohio secretary of state's office estimates there are 7.8 million registered voters in Ohio this year, though not all county boards of elections have reported their counts. Athens makes up about 0.54 percent of that number with 41,770 voters registered in the county for the 2006 elections.
For each of the past 12 even-year primary elections, more of the county's voters chose to vote Democrat than chose to vote Republican. A majority of the county's voters have voted for each Democratic presidential candidate since 1984, when 52.6 percent chose Republican Ronald Reagan. Athens votes in gubernatorial elections also have been consistently Democratic, with members of that party winning Athens County in four of the past five races for governor.
Typically if there is one county in Southeast Ohio that leans Democratic it is Athens County
partly because (Ohio University) is there
said John McClelland, communications director for the Ohio Republican Party. During that period of their lives people tend to lean more Democrat.
Given its voting record, Athens County likely will favor Democratic candidates from the state level ' like gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland ' to the local level, said Debbie Phillips, an Athens City Councilwoman running for the 92nd District seat in the Ohio House of Representatives.
State-wise
we're such a small part
but district-wise (Athens County) makes more of an impact
said Pete Couladis, chairman of the Athens County Republican Party. Thus, the county will be important in deciding the race between Phillips and Republican incumbent Jimmy Stewart.
Athens tends to be Democratic
and this year will be no exception
Phillips said.
Gubernatorial candidates have focused on more swing areas of the state, but Athens County likely will play a bigger role in the national congressional elections because it is part of two competitive congressional districts, said Randy Borntrager, communications director for the Ohio Democratic Party.
National news media, such as The New York Times, have reported that Democrats must win 15 Republican-held seats to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Athens County is split between Ohio's 6th and 18th U.S. congressional districts. State Sen. Charlie Wilson, D-Bridgeport, will face state Representative Chuck Blasdel, R-East Liverpool, for the District 6 seat. State Senator Joy Padgett, R-Coshocton, will challenge Zack Space, a Dover Democrat, to replace Republican Bob Ney in District 18.
No matter what role Athens County plays in the elections, the issues Athens voters care about are typically the issues that Ohio voters in general are concerned with, said Jerry Miller, an OU political communications professor. Local candidates have said the economy and job development top that list.
