Flash player is required to view weather conditions. Download

site web  

MIDDLETOWN — Republican voters in the Middletown area appear to be heeding radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's call for them to cast their ballot for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the March 4 primary election.

Several precinct judges in Middletown and Franklin Twp. said they've seen a "larger than usual" number of Republicans switching over to Democratic ballots. With Republican presidential candidate John McCain having all but sewn up the GOP nomination, Limbaugh urged Republican voters to cast their ballots for Clinton. His reason: To bloody up Barack Obama politically.

Limbaugh said Feb. 29 on the O'Reilly Factor television show that the battle between Clinton and Obama was "too good a soap opera" and that Clinton needed to stay in the race as long as possible to bloody up Obama politically in a way McCain would not.

And apparently some voters were listening.

Marilyn Hatfield, an associate judge in Ward 3, precinct 3 at Christ United Methodist Church in Middletown, said she's seen more Democrats than normal show up at the polls. Hatfield, who has worked in that precinct since 1989, said the precinct is usually almost totally Republican.

"Several people said they were pulling Democratic ballots because of what Rush Limbaugh said on his show," Hatfield said.

In Ward 3, precincts 1 and 5, a total of 26 Republicans switched ballots. Another 10 Republicans cast Democratic ballots in Ward 3, precinct 7.

A precinct judge in Franklin Twp., who declined to give his name, said, "I've seen more switching than what I would consider normal."

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or erichter@coxohio.com.