Petro arrives, hoarse from all those speeches

Jim Petro walked into his party room at the Athletic Club of Columbus at 9:20 p.m. to the cheers of the more than 100 supporters gathered to see him and the election results.

Hoarse from what he said was about 40 speeches over the weekend during his 1,000-mile bus tour, the attorney general said he and his wife, Joy, are "thrilled with all of you being thrilled.''

He said he chose to join his friends and supporters early -- even before the polls closed in Cuyahoga County -- "because we're all excited. This has been one of these weeks where we have sensed momentum every day.''

He came, he said, "to just take a moment'' to thank all the volunteers, county and regional party chairmen and his campaign staff. He said many have viewed his campaign as an "underdog campaign'' and that they had "kept it in the underdog column.'' The crowd laughed and cheered.

"Let me tell you, we feel excited because you're excited,'' Petro said. "We feel satisfied with the direction of our campaign. ... We didn't tell any fibs, we didn't try to distort the truth.''
Jim Petro walked into his party room at the Athletic Club of Columbus at 9:20 p.m. to the cheers of the more than 100 supporters gathered to see him and the election results.

-- Jane Prendergast