Despite winning the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney faces a big challenge here in Ohio. There are three issues that could give the Romney some trouble.
Romney has two wins under his belt but he could be stopped dead in his tracks because of some issues important to Ohio.
After his primary victory in New Hampshire, Tuesday, Romney told a crowd of supporters, "Tonight we celebrate; tomorrow we go back to work." For Mitt Romney, back to work means campaigning in the next primary state of South Carolina.
But if he wants the nomination, he has to win Ohio. And Dr. Melissa Miller, a political science professor from Bowling Green State University says, Romney has some work to do in Ohio.
She sees a candidate who has trouble on three issues.
Collective Bargaining
Number one: Collective Bargaining in the form of Senate Bill Five. Romney ultimately supported the measure, but Ohioans overwhelmingly rejected it.
Auto Bailout
The second issue: the Auto Bailout. Romney wrote an article entitled *Let Detroit go Bankrupt* in November, 2008 opposing the auto bailout. But with a renewed Chrysler announcing 11-hundred new jobs coming to Toledo and General Motors poised to be the world's number one auto seller, Romney's position makes him vulnerable.
Dr. Miller says the auto bailout is now "perceived to have saved a lot of jobs, in Ohio and Michigan so that, there again, Romney is on the wrong side of that issue (with voters)."
Individual Mandate
The third issue: the individual mandate in the healthcare law. Back in November, 66% of Ohioans--and a majority in all 88 counties--rejected the individual mandate in president Obama's healthcare law." Ohioans want *out* of the plan, but as governor, Mitt Romney passed a healthcare bill the president says was the model for the *nation's* new plan.
Doctor Miller says Romney has to be careful how he defends his record. "He's been trying to say this wasn't meant to be a blueprint for the United States, states should be able to do what they want. But at the same time, the more wiggling he does around the issue, the more it looks like he's trying to shift his position, the more that feeds into the pre-existing narrative that he's a waffler."
So on collective bargaining, the auto bailout and healthcare legislation. Mitt Romney may have some explaining to do in Ohio. But Romney could still *win* Ohio despite those issues. He's a moderate candidate and Ohio is a moderate state.
But ironically, Dr. Miller says those issues may not hurt him as much if he's the Republican nominee.
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