I am sick of hearing that one must carry Ohio to be elected President... Well I've heard no mention of the fact that Ohio has lost 10% of its electoral votes for 2012... and they did not go to California or New York (deep blue).
While it may be a historical fact that Ohio had to be won when it represented 7.4% of the electoral votes necessary for election... it now represents 6.66% of the necessary electoral votes, it is therefore, mathematically less pivotal.
>> it is therefore, mathematically less pivotal.
Are you Positive?
Mathematically, I agree with you.
Ohio for Romney, though, is a battle of prevention. With Obama alread at 221, he needs only 49 EV’s to win. Ohio’s 18 going to Obama makes that only 31 more EV’s that he needs to win, and if Ohio falls, then Romney must win 75% of the remaining EV’s, with Florida a must win among them.
Ohio is also odd because it seems always to be right on the line, due to its big mixes of urban, surburban, exurb, town, and agricultural, so it’s a good indicator of how close calls will be breaking.