Where’s Barack Obama?

Hillary Rodham Clinton – with the help of notable surrogates, including her husband, her daughter and celebrities such as actor Ted Danson – has been blanketing the Hoosier state in hopes of winning its May 6 primary, while Obama has had only a few visits.

While Obama still has two weeks between today’s Pennsylvania primary and the Indiana vote, North Carolina also votes on May 6. Obama is expected to win North Carolina and will have to spend some time there. Even if his Hoosier presence ramps up significantly, he won’t be able to match the number of stops the Clintons have made.

Hillary Clinton is to return to Fort Wayne at 10 a.m. Saturday at Grand Wayne Center.

Howard’s campaign

Republican James Howard has raised the most money among the seven County Council candidates, reports filed Friday show, bringing in $6,357. Among the contributors were Fred Rost ($1,200), who made one of the loans to mayoral candidate Matt Kelty that later led to criminal charges against Kelty because the loan was not initially reported. Another contributor was City Councilwoman Karen Goldner, a Democrat, who gave $165.

A number of Kelty supporters are said to be in the camp of Howard, the city purchasing director who is also vice president of Allen County Right to Life. Some have discussed “bullet” voting for Howard, selecting only a single candidate in the race for three council seats. Advocates of “bullet” voting point out that voters increase the chances of their top choice being elected because voting for two other candidates could help them beat the preferred candidate.

Anytime seven people seek three seats, surprises can happen – especially in a primary that is expected to have even lower turnout than usual.

Paul Moss was second in the fundraising race with $6,000 – all from a loan the candidate made to his campaign. Moss said he hopes to recoup much of the money with a post-primary fundraiser.

Debate disappointment

Perhaps the most disappointing element of last Tuesday’s debate between Democratic candidates for governor Jill Long Thompson and Jim Schellinger was the number of empty seats in the Rhinehart Recital Hall at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Seating was limited – each of the campaigns was given a number of tickets, and about 50 were kept back to be given to audience members on a first-come, first-served basis. But a number of seats – two dozen or more – remained empty, despite the fact that it was the only scheduled debate between the two.

GOP woes

People who follow local politics knew the Allen County Republican Party was hurting, but the depths of the party’s woes as revealed by financial reports filed last week is still startling.

Long a well-financed political powerhouse, the party ended 2007 with only $99 in the bank and owing nearly $50,000.

Party Chairman Steve Shine sought to spin the story with talk about the party listing all of its debts, something Democrats apparently didn’t do. But the financial picture remains a big and unpleasant surprise for many local Republicans.