The 2012 Presidential Election between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney is one of the closest ever. With the popular vote being about tied the election will most likely come down to the Electoral College. There’s no doubt that the swing states will decide who wins this election. Florida, North Carolina, and maybe most importantly, Ohio, are the most valuable of the swing states. Some of them are showing a slight shift towards President Obama and others towards Romney, however, it’s still way too close to call in each state. It’s most probable that each state will stay too close to call throughout next week and up to Election Day. This election is extremely similar to the election between Bush and Gore in 2000. Bush lost the popular vote but won a majority in the Electoral College resulting in the Presidency. This could very well occur again but this time experts are saying the democrat Barack Obama would win instead of the Republican Romney. Ohio played a huge role in the 2000 election; in the end it may have decided who actually won the election. With Ohio going to Bush, he was pushed over the 270 mark and gave him the office. This could very well happen again this year. Right now it looks like Obama and Romney are practically tied in almost all of the swing states. Certain states like Florida and Ohio are the most valuable due to the number of electoral votes each of them carry. This is what makes Ohio so important because it’s the closest and also holds eighteen electoral votes. In many cases the winner of Ohio will have the necessary votes to get over the 270 mark and win the election. I asked Mr. Gergen, the government and economics teacher here at Elder his thoughts on Ohio. I asked why he thinks it is so important. “There are a few reasons, and one reason is that Ohio has a very similar demographic makeup as the entire nation due to its ethnical, racial and especially how the population splits between democratic and republican ideas. Another reason is because it is one of the larger electoral states and has been historically known to be a toss-up state with great value,” he said. I then asked if he thinks the winner of Ohio will win the presidency, he said, “I don’t think it’s guaranteed, but it’s very possible that something like that will happen. However, the winner of the presidency will also come down to the other swing states.” Ohio is basically a microcosm of the United States; we have a make up a lot like the rest of the country. In a way, it can be looked at as if the state of Ohio is choosing the president due to this extremely close election. The way the election plays out will be very interesting, we will have to wait and see who wins Ohio and if the state lives up to its importance. Hopefully everyone in Ohio will realize its importance and vote.