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More Ohio Democrats are starting to warm to the idea of Bernie Sanders winning the presidential nomination, even if he wasn't their first choice.

But not Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley.

Cranley said he's "very concerned" about the Vermont senator's mounting momentum after the caucuses and primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Cranley, along with Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and Lima Mayor David Berger and a host of local leaders across the state, have endorsed former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Cranley thinks candidates Michael Bloomberg and Sanders are too polarizing and will hand the victory to President Donald Trump.

"It strikes me the track we're heading in is going to make beating Trump less likely," Cranley said. "We as a party need to unify behind Pete."

Cranley – a possible 2022 candidate for Ohio governor – hastened to say he'd vote for Sanders in the general if Sanders wins the nomination.

Democrats across the state told The Enquirer they're prepared to support Sanders should he win the nomination.

And while many still harbor concerns about Sanders' electability, there seemed to be more optimism about his chances in the general election against President Donald Trump. There have been no recent statewide polls showing head-to-head matchups in Ohio.

It's still a long way to go in a political process where a month feels like a decade, said Tim Burke, an attorney and former Hamilton County Democratic Party chairman.

Will Dems rally behind Sanders if he's the nominee? Burke said he will.

"You're going to get a mixed bag from local Democrats, some folks who are absolutely committed to Bernie, some people who are worried about Bernie," Burke told The Enquirer. "And you have some like me who are absolutely committed to whoever is running against the president."

Burke still doesn't know who he's going to vote for in Ohio's March 17 presidential primary. He knows he's not going to vote for Sanders.

For Burke, his support is wavering between former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

He still questions whether Sanders can beat Trump in November. But maybe, just maybe, he can.

"I've read a couple of editorials where they make a good argument that Bernie can win this thing," Burke said. "I think it's theoretically possible."

It's more than theoretically possible for Ryan Ottney, chairman of the Scioto County Democratic Party in south-central Ohio. Ottney said he supports Sanders. He's noticing more people in the past few months support Sanders, particularly older people who at first dismissed him.

"Now that we're getting into the election and people are voting, we're starting to see Bernie is electable," Ottney said. "He can win."

Democrats should stop worrying about finding the perfect candidate, said State Rep. David Leland, of Columbus, former chairman of the state party.

"We should work like hell for our eventual nominee and defeat the greatest threat to Democracy in our lifetime, Donald Trump," Leland said.

And there are signs Sanders' support is increasing in Ohio among Democrats.

The Sanders crowd was by far the largest among the presidential candidates when local Democrats in Forest Park met in early January to choose their delegates from a local congressional district to the Democratic National Convention this year.

A lot of that was the work of Richard Asimus, who rallied people to support his bid as delegate. It worked. He got the most votes as a Sanders delegate, meaning he stands a good chance of going to the DNC in Milwaukee in July so long as Sanders gets at least 15 percent of the vote in the First Congressional District. That looks likely.

But two months ago, Asimus didn't know who he was supporting in the Democratic Primary. He initially liked Buttigieg. He said he also went through an Elizabeth Warren phase.

Then he talked with a friend who is a labor leader. The discussion convinced him Sanders will fight more than any other candidate for the working class.

“I think Sanders in some ways represents the opposite of what Trump is about,” Asimus said.

Asimus also thinks Sanders' appeal among young people will help in the general election. He sees that passion for Sanders among adults under the age of 30 in his progressive group he leads, Bold New Democracy.

“Young people do not get tripped up by the word ‘socialist,’” Asimus said.

That's not to say there isn't still fear among Democrats over a Sanders nomination.

Janet Carson, president of the Ohio Democratic County Chairs Association, is running as a delegate for Joe Biden. While she said she will support whoever the Democratic nomination is, she worries that Democrats could lose control of the House and fall short in the party's effort to regain the Senate if Sanders becomes the party's leader.

“I understand the attraction of a Sanders being the nominee," Carson said. "But I’m not sure as I travel across Ohio and talk to voters in all areas of the state that he is the candidate that can win nationally, and that he can win the Electoral College states to beat Trump in 2020.”

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper is hopeful the party will come together to support the nominee after the July convention. If they don’t, “then shame on us.”

Pepper said he’s staying neutral in the primary race. But he said he didn’t like what he saw in the last Democratic debate.

“They were much more focused on each other than on Trump,” Pepper said. “People don’t want to hear a food fight between us. They want to be inspired to beat Trump.”

Darrel Rowland of The Columbus Dispatch contributed.