Obama gains momentum with Ohio black voters

[OhioChick]

January 25, 2008 18:46PM

As black voters head to the polls Saturday in South Carolina, where they are expected to play a decisive role, black Democrats in Ohio are gearing up to make a difference in their party's March 4 primary.
Barack Obama is gaining momentum with Ohio black voters, just when Ohio's primary is shaping up as critical in the presidential race. About 12 percent of Ohio's registered Democrats are black, and they could help deliver the state to Obama, political analysts say.

Lillian Freeman, 51, a Cleveland Heights educator, is one of many black Ohioans who have switched from Hillary Clinton to Obama in recent weeks.

What prompted her change of heart? "Watching Hillary change faces," first with her teary remarks and then her aggressive attacks on Obama in the following days, Freeman said.

Also, seeing Obama win Iowa gave Freeman new faith in his ability to go all the way. "It's just kind of exciting to watch," she said.

A year ago, few blacks allowed themselves to dream that a black man could win the White House, said Richard Scott, 50, a Richmond Heights television producer and technician and longtime Obama supporter. But "winning in Iowa made a big difference," Scott said. "He's showing a lot of backbone and people are now starting to say . . . maybe we can see this in our lifetime."

Clinton once had a stronghold on older black voters, and Obama appealed more to younger ones, said Jason Johnson, a Hiram College political science professor. But that's changing swiftly, Johnson said.

http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/01/chris_stephensthe_plain_dealer.html