[img_assist|nid=156|title=U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn|desc=Getty Images Photo|link=none|url=undefined|align=left|width=420|height=280]U.S. House Majority Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) tells PolitickerOH.com that Barack Obama’s loss in the Ohio Democratic primary to Hillary Clinton does not mean that he’ll lose the state in November. Democrats voted for Clinton as their No. 1 choice and Obama as their No. 2, and come Election Day they’ll vote for their second choice before voting for their third choice in John McCain, Clyburn said.

Clyburn said there are some Democrats who won't vote for Obama because he’s black, but Obama’s appeal is larger than their bigotry.

“But I also know that there a lot of Republicans who going to very proudly vote for Barack Obama because they see in him a way not to just change direction but also a way given the national stage for this country of ours,” Clyburn said. “There are people all over the world looking who are looking to this election as a way to look up to America. Look for a way to restore us in this global economy to a place we ought to be.”

When asked if Obama’s race would prevent him from carrying Ohio, Clyburn cited other states as examples where blacks were elected to high office.

“Let me just say, I know a lot of people who said that Virginia a few years ago would not elect a black person governor, and it did: Gov. Wilder was elected governor of Virginia,” Clyburn said. “People said there was no way that Deval Patrick would be elected governor of Massachusetts. I remember when people looked at Massachusetts as being about as bad as some parts of Mississippi.”

Clyburn was campaigning with 1st Congressional District candidate state Sen. Steve Driehaus (D-Cincinnati) this weekend. The district currently represented by U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Westwood) is the third largest African-American district represented by a Republican in the country, and Clyburn said he expects Obama to help increase Democratic turnout there.

Driehaus campaign manager Melissa Wideman said in an interview last month that she thought Democratic turnout for the 2006 race against Chabot was artificially low because Ken Blackwell was running for governor on the Republican side, and that Democrats, especially black Democrats, may have been reluctant to vote against him because he’s a native son of Cincinnati. Wideman expected Obama to boost Democratic turnout this year, which would help Driehaus especially if people use straight-ticket voting.

Chabot campaign manager Jamie Schwartz agreed that Obama would boost turnout, but said that turnout for Chabot was low in 2006 because of the Ohio GOP’s scandals. Schwartz said he expects higher Republican turnout this year from Butler County and Green Township, Chabot’s political base.

Clyburn also visited 15th Congressional District candidate Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Columbus), who is currently a Franklin County commissioner. Clyburn said he’s told candidates to take a close look at their district and talk about their governing philosophy, but personal touches matter too.

“Be yourself, run on your message as much as you possibly can, respond to people’s dreams and aspirations and be prepared to ride the wave, because I think a wave is going to develop this time and it is a wave that I believe we can ride to the top,” Clyburn said.

Clyburn said he expects to return to Ohio to campaign in the 16th Congressional District for Democratic candidate John Boccieri.