Poll: Clinton holds nine point lead going into Ohio vote 
Clinton widens lead
Heading into an Ohio primary that has the potential to revive her presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton is holding onto a solid lead in the Buckeye state, according to a new poll of likely primary voters there.
Clinton receives support from 51 percent of probable Ohio Democratic primary voters while Barack Obama has the support of 42 percent of the same group, according to a new Ohio Poll released Monday (.pdf). The poll, conducted between Feb. 28 and March 2, shows Clinton increasing her support in Ohio since the previous poll a week ago, which showed her leading Obama 47-39.
While Obama has erased Clinton's once-double-digit lead in Texas, which also votes Tuesday, the former First Lady has held on to her advantage in Ohio, which is again expected to be a crucial swing state in November's general election.
The Ohio Poll, which is conducted by the University of Cincinnati, was released Monday. Concurrent polls from Zogby and Quinnipiac University lacked similar good news for Clinton.
The Zogby poll showed Obama up 47-45, the first time he's opened a lead in Ohio. And Qunnipiac's poll showed Clinton clinging to a small lead that has shrunk by 17 points over the last two weeks: Clinton led Obama 49-45 in the poll released Monday, compared to her 55-34 lead on Feb. 14.
Observers say Clinton needs to win both states to keep her campaign viable, although her campaign tried to raise the stakes for Obama last week, arguing that he needed to sweep Tuesday's contests in an effort that was widely scoffed at.
Clinton spent Monday campaigning in Ohio and Texas after sharpening her attacks on Obama over the weekend.
"For some people this election is about how you feel, it's about speeches," the New York senator said at a campaign stop outside of Columbus in a veiled reference to her earlier criticism that Obama offers little beyond eloquent talk. "Well, that's not what it's about for me. It's about solutions."
Obama aides tell the Associated Press that they are feeling good about winning Texas but are less sure about Ohio.
However, the race to the 2,024 delegates needed to secure the nomination is unlikely to change much after Tuesday's votes in four states (Vermont and Rhode Island also hold primaries). Because of the Democratic party's proportional allocation of delegates, neither candidate is expected to emerge from Tuesday's votes with a substantial net gain in delegates.
With wire reports.
 
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