Former President Clinton told hundreds of Hillary Rodham Clinton's supporters on Sunday that her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination will likely come down to contests next month in Ohio and Texas.
"It's up to you," he told about 800 people inside the gymnasium of a Toledo high school.
Clinton also said his wife is the only candidate with the ideas to help a state like Ohio, which has been hit hard by home foreclosures and the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs.
The former first lady is trying to rebound from eight consecutive losses to her rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, including several by lopsided margins, and she is looking for wins in the Ohio and Texas primaries on March 4 to give her campaign a boost.
Polls show her with a comfortable lead over Obama in Ohio, and the two candidates are scheduled to debate in Cleveland on Feb. 26.
Obama has scheduled a rally Monday afternoon at Youngstown State University.
Bill Clinton's speech in Toledo addressed many of Ohio's problems. The metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Akron, Dayton and Toledo ranked among the 20 areas with the highest foreclosure rates in the nation last year, according to a study released last week by RealtyTrac Inc., a mortgage research company.
Hillary Clinton, a U.S. senator from New York, is trying to project herself as a champion of the working class.
She has proposed a plan to freeze home foreclosures for 90 days. She also wants to encourage investment in renewable energy sources, which would benefit Ohio farmers who grow crops for biofuels and create jobs statewide, her husband said.
Her husband also planned appearances Sunday in the blue-collar cities of Canton, Steubenville and Marietta.
