(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-24 08:44

So it's not hard to figure out what the presidential candidates will be campaigning on for the next two weeks.

"This campaign is about jobs, jobs, jobs," said Robin Winston, a former Indiana Democratic Party chairman.

The campaign arrives at a rocky time politically. Recent elections have seen mayors, members of Congress and others tossed from office amid anger over tax increases and the lagging economy.

But at this point, the Democratic race appears to be a competitive one.

The most recent poll showed Obama was favored by 50 percent of decided voters, Clinton by 45 percent and five percent of respondents were undecided.

The poll take April 14 to 16 by the Downs Center at the University of Indiana had a margin of error of 4.2 percent.

Interestingly, Indiana offers built-in advantages for both candidates.

The state has large numbers of older voters (12.4 percent of the population according to the latest census data), and those without college degrees (81.6 percent), whom Clinton has won in large number in other states.

The state's African-American population, which has strongly favored Obama in his bid to be the first black president is also just 8.9 percent, below the national average of 12.8 percent and 21.4 percent in North Carolina, the next big state to hold a contest.

Obama, however, hails from neighboring Illinois and benefits from the large number of Indiana voters who live in the Chicago media market, and who began following Obama's career long before he became a national figure.

Indiana's top Democrat, Senator Evan Bayh, has campaigned vigorously for Clinton, while Obama has also won key endorsements.

In the end, though, former state party chairman Winston believes voters will make up their own minds, saying the key to victory here is making sure Hoosiers, as residents are known, feel at home with you.

"Much of this is about force of personality," he said. "You have to present yourself as someone people would like to have over for a barbecue in their backyard."

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