Since Barack Obama was reelected to a second term, Ohio has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.
The only Democratic statewide officeholder who has found longterm success is Sen. Sherrod Brown, who was first elected to the upper chamber in 2006
Some Democrats argue that funding for political candidates is better spent in newer swing states like Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina, as they see Ohio drifting past their reach.
It's a mindset that Tim Ryan, this year's Democratic Senate nominee, has completely rejected, pointing to the need for the party to once again engage with the working class voters who had traditionally been a major part of the party's base.
Many Democrats were skeptical that Ryan's Republican opponent would be able to carry the state this year.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, the congressman said that he would fight anyone who argued that purple-trending states with higher levels of college graduates were better electoral targets.
He said during a stop at a union hall that he would fight anyone from any party who tried to sell that bullcrap. "If you need a college degree to get a passport to join a political party, there's no chance of me watching you."
He said it was so offensive.
According to Open Secrets, Ryan has raised over $47 million for his campaign.
National Republicans poured millions of dollars into the state because they believed they would not have to defend it.
Ryan has not lost sight of the fact that he still has many advantages, including potential coattails from the likely reelection of Gov. Mike DeWine and the GOP tint of the state's rural and ex urban areas.
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