FROM STAFF REPORTS
Kent -- On Sept. 26, 2012, President Barrack Obama became the first sitting president to visit Portage County to campaign since Richard M. Nixon rolled through the northern tier of the county in 1972.
At the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center at Kent State University, Obama drew a line in the sand between his economic policy and Republican candidate Mitt Romney's, which he said would only benefit the richest Americans.
Obama went on to defeat Romney in the November election.
A long line of area residents waited hours for tickets to the appearance several days ahead of the visit, and the MAC Center was packed during the speech, which was one of dozens of Obama appearances in Ohio during the months-long campaign.
In opposition to Obama, the Portage County TEA Party placed empty chairs in yards around the county, including a 12-foot high one along Route 43, the route Obama took into and out of town during his appearance.
Obama won Portage County by about 3,500 votes.
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