Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland Backs Hillary

Ohio governor endorses Clinton

Updated 12:45 p.m.

By Jim Tankersley

Hillary Clinton has scored the most coveted Democratic endorsement from arguably the most important swing state in the nation: Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio.

As the Tribune first reported this morning, Strickland, the first-year governor with sky-high approval ratings, endorsed Clinton on a noon conference call. He praised the New York senator's experience - "These are very serious times for our nation and the world, and I believe we need a serious leader who is able to bring about the change we desperately need" - and perhaps most importantly, called her the Democrat best-positioned to win his critical state next fall.

In Ohio, Strickland said, "She is the strongest candidate that our party can put forth, and she is the candidate who can win the presidency."

Strickland is a pro-gun former Methodist minister who broke a 16-year Republican hold on the governorship last year. He won huge swaths of normally red rural Ohio, which analysts call key for a Democrat seeking the state's 20 crucial electoral votes.

His support could provide a counterpunch to Clinton's rivals' claims that she is too polarizing to win a general election. A new Ohio Poll from the University of Cincinnati today pegs the governor's approval rating at 69 percent, including 65 percent among Republicans and 68 percent among independents.

Clinton, Strickland said today, is the "most effective carrier" among the Democratic contenders of the "kitchen table" or "dinner-bucket" message that helped him win the governorship by 23 percentage points in 2006.

Clinton said she was "very honored" by the endorsement and praised Strickland for passing a fiscally conservative budget this year that won wide Republican support. "Obviously, the road to the White House goes through Ohio," she said. "I'm going to be very proud and grateful to have Gov. Strickland on that road with me."

The pair go way back: They worked together on her ill-fated universal health care plan in the 1990s, when Clinton was First Lady and Strickland was a congressman from southern Ohio. Strickland has long called Clinton a personal friend.

Last year, Ohio Democrats estimated Clinton raised nearly $500,000 for Strickland and Sherrod Brown, the then-congressman who unseated Sen. Mike DeWine. Bill Clinton raised at least $225,000 more for Strickland. Strickland endured sharp personal attacks in that campaign - including opponents' claims that he encouraged child predators and knowingly employed a sex offender while in Congress - and he expressed sympathy today for the criticisms Clinton has faced on the presidential trail.

"Sen. Clinton, in the face of attacks, has remained resolute in putting forth a positive message," he said.

The senator and the governor both downplayed talk that the endorsement is a preview of the 2008 Democratic ticket. Asked if she was considering Strickland as a running mate if she wins the nomination, Clinton said she was too focused on the primary campaign to even think about it. Strickland said flatly that "I have no interest at all in the vice presidency."

Still, Clinton will waste no time trumpeting the endorsement. She plans to bring Strickland to the high-profile Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner in Iowa this weekend. Strickland noted that he was last in the state to campaign for Rep. Richard Gephardt -- another Clinton supporter in this race -- in 2004.

"I got so cold in Iowa," he said with a slight laugh, "that I've yet to fully warm up."

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