In Ohio's primary election, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton gained a crucial victory over Sen. Barack Obama.
Four million voters - half of the state's registered total and a record high - turned out to polling places despite rain and near-freezing temperatures. Because of weather and ballot shortages, a federal court challenge by Obama's campaign forced polling places in the Cleveland area to stay open until 9 p.m.
Turnout was somewhat lower in Franklin County, where about a third of the county's 782,746 registered voters cast their ballots.
This was the first election in which Ohio allowed voters to use absentee ballots without a stated reason, which could have led to the higher turnout. Clinton received 55 percent of Ohio's votes, leaving Obama trailing with 44 percent.
Obama won only four of Ohio's 18 congressional districts, doing well in urban areas near Cleveland, Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati, according to information provided by the Ohio Secretary of State.
However, Clinton performed well in rural areas, winning Ohio's sixth district, which spans Ohio's southeast border, by an almost three-to-one ratio.
She also carried a majority of primary votes in Texas and Rhode Island, while Obama won Vermont. The caucuses in Texas - which decide about one-third of the state's delegate votes - were still too close to call as of late last night.
John McCain won all 18 of Ohio's congressional districts, and carried all four states. With the delegates from these states, the Arizona senator clinched the Republican nomination.
Clinton's much-needed wins stopped Obama's 12-state winning streak, adding new momentum to her campaign.
Some Otterbein students are trying to decide what Clinton's win means for the rest of the election. Freshman Jonathan Smith struggled with the possible outcomes. "I guess if Clinton is on the ticket I will probably vote for her, because she'd be better than McCain," said Smith. "My only problem with that would be that I strongly disagree with some of her views."
The campaign trail for the presidential hopefuls led to Westerville city schools Sunday, where both Democratic candidates made appearances.
At her post-primary rally, Clinton commented on the importance of the Ohio primary. "As Ohio goes, so goes the nation," she said.
At Otterbein, one small group of Hillary Clinton supporters is quickly gaining confidence after her recent wins.
Cole Hague is one Clinton supporter who is excited about the rest of the presidential race. "I'm curious to see how the rest of the primary elections go, because I really believe that Hillary has the right views to help bring our country back together and make us more unified," said Hague. "The only trouble is going to be getting people to trust these views since they are coming from a woman."
The public will have to wait for the April 22 Pennsylvania primary to find out who the Democratic presidential nominee will be.
After the primaries Tuesday, the public could find that the next "first lady" will actually be a man. t&c;
