Clinton stops by Northeast Ohio hillary Democratic nominee has plenty of criticism of Trump in Akron visit from A1

Hillary Clinton shakes hands with supporters during a campaign stop this month at Goodyear Hall and Theater.

(Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign already is declaring victory in Ohio - or, at least, victory in the Buckeye State's first week of early voting.

"The work is paying off," Clinton's Ohio director, Chris Wyant, writes in a state-of-the-race memo obtained Thursday by cleveland.com. "Hillary won the first days of early voting."

Statewide, requests for absentee ballots are down compared to this point in time during the 2012 election, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said this week. But Wyant, in his memo, expresses confidence that a high number of those requests are coming from five traditionally Democratic counties that are expected to favor Clinton over Republican Donald Trump this fall.

"All five" - Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Montgomery and Summit counties - "are likely to go for Hillary Clinton by similar - or in the cases of Franklin and Hamilton Counties, where in person turnout is currently a larger percentage of the state than it was in 2012 - larger margins than President Barack Obama's results" from his 2012 Ohio win, Wyant writes.

Recent polls forecast a close race between Clinton and Trump in Ohio. Quinnipiac University this week found a tie, while CNN/ORC showed Trump leading Clinton by 4 points.

Clinton and the Democrats have a stronger foothold in the state. The Trump team underscored this fact last week, when Ohio director Bob Paduchik announced a split with Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, who has voiced concerns about Trump's rhetoric.

Wyant's memo revels in the rift as "an unprecedented broadside against the leader of the organization widely credited with propping up Trump's own lackluster organization in the state." It also alludes to drama with other GOP leaders. (Gov. John Kasich has said he won't vote for Trump. Sen. Rob Portman has withdrawn his endorsement of the presidential nominee.)

"In the Republican Party the real work is done by the county parties who organize the door knocks and phone banks, and by their volunteers who knocked on more than 140,000 doors last Saturday for Donald Trump," Paduchik said in an emailed response. "The Clinton campaign resembles their failed candidate Hillary Clinton, and is all talk and no action with their $15 per hour paid Craigslist canvassers. Ohioans want change and they know Donald Trump will drain the swamp in Washington and Make America Great Again."

Trump is campaigning Thursday in Ohio's Delaware County, a heavily Republican area that takes in the northern suburbs of Columbus, but one where Clinton believes she can shave the margins. He will return to the state Saturday for a rally at Cleveland's I-X Center.

Clinton, who a month ago seemed to be dialing back in Ohio in favor of other swing states, will make her third visit here this month with a Friday event at Cuyahoga Community College.

Wyant's memo suggests the state very much remains part of Clinton's electoral equation.

"The bottom line is Hillary for Ohio has a stronger and more united ground game, a superior candidate, and in an election where more people are expected to vote than ever before, we are prepared to turn out record numbers of Ohioans to vote for the first female president," Wyant writes. "While Trump continues to muddle through disturbing allegations and distract his organization with palace intrigue, it is clear that his campaign has been all talk."