By Greg Wright
Gannett News Service

NEW LEXINGTON, Ohio - Appalachian Ohio voters are an unusual mix.

Many agree with Democrats that the government should look out for the poor. But among them, you'll find much agreement with Republicans on issues such as gun rights and abortion.

They're patriotic as well. Just driving through the rolling countryside near towns such as Somerset and New Lexington, you're likely to see Old Glory waving on the front porch alongside the scarlet-and-gray banner of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Appalachian Ohio might not be the richest part of the state, but come Election Day, it could wield more power than Cincinnati or Cleveland.

Voters in 29 Appalachian counties along Ohio's southeast border with Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania could tip the presidential race, political experts said.

Since the race between President Bush and Democrat John Kerry is close and Ohio is one of about 20 battleground states, some observers say Appalachian Ohio could be a heavy influence. Voters in northern Ohio around Cleveland tend to vote Democratic, while Southwest Ohio is predominantly Republican.

But those in Appalachian Ohio can go either way, depending on which presidential candidate they think can deliver jobs, said Eric Rademacher, a research associate at the University of Cincinnati's Institute of Policy Research.

"I do think that it is true that southeast Ohio is a swing electorate," said Michael Burton, an assistant political science professor at Ohio University in Athens. "This is a part of the country that appreciates attention to the real needs of the people."

One of those needs is employment. The jobs issue is a sore point for many in southeast Ohio. In June, seven of nine Ohio counties with the highest jobless rates were in Appalachia, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The state has lost 164,000 manufacturing jobs since 2001, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Several manufacturers who hire Appalachian workers recently closed or announced layoffs. This includes the Lempco Industries metal die factory in New Lexington, which shut down in 2003.

"There needs to be more done here (on jobs). People have a lot of problems with that," said Corlyn Altier, 43, who was working at the local Democratic Party booth at the Perry County Fair in New Lexington in late July. Altier and her husband, Ted, have an ambulance billing service company but cannot afford health care.

Ohio is a must-win, especially for Bush. He carried the state by less than 4 percentage points in 2000. No Republican has won the presidency without the Buckeye State.

Tammy Waters, 34, a massage therapy student at Hocking College in Nelsonville, said Bush should be re-elected so he can finish foreign and economic initiatives he started.

"I think he has held up pretty dang good for everything he's been through," Waters said.

Gerard Lemay, 72, a Korean War veteran who lives in Perry County, said Bush is being unfairly criticized for fighting the war against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. No matter who was in the White House, the United States would have had to take military action after the Sept. 11 attacks, he said.

"This president has not been doing any more than anyone else in the past," said Lemay, who dropped by the Perry County senior center to play cards.

Frank Johnson, 30, a computer-programming student who lives in Athens and attends school at Hocking, said the war is wrong.

"I support the troops 100 percent, but they were sent there for no reason," Johnson said.

U.S. Rep. Robert Ney, a Republican from St. Clairsville who represents Ohio's mostly Appalachian 18th District, said support for Bush remains steady in his district. The economy is also improving, although there are still high unemployment pockets, he said.

"It will be a battle," Ney said.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland of Lucasville, who represents the neighboring 6th Congressional District in Appalachia, said Bush is losing support there because he sugarcoats the state's job problem.

"That may work for him somewhere else, but I think the people in Appalachia are continuing to see jobs lost and continue to lose health care," Strickland said.

While Bush has his critics, so does Kerry:

"He's sneaky. He's so wishy-washy. He'll say this to one person and something else to another," Judith Winthrow, 59, of Coshocton said during a visit to the Perry County Fair.

Gary Grueser, 47, thinks Kerry would help create more higher-paying jobs. He is studying to be a physical therapist and works at the Kroger supermarket in Belpre.

"I'm favoring Democrats right now because of the economy," said Grueser, who lives in Syracuse in Meigs County.

Mary Dickson, 73, was at the Perry County Senior Center working on a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle of a picturesque, European street. Bush tends to favor big business. she said. But on the other hand, she is not sure Kerry is up for the job.

"If both of them walked in here, I would get up and rush out," she said. "It's all politics - they are both getting kind of dirty."

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E-mail gwright@gannett.com