We’ve got a competitive presidential race in Ohio — and that can’t be good news for President Donald Trump, who would be in serious jeopardy of losing re-election if he can’t capture this state in November.

The election is less than three months away, and the COVID-19 pandemic will make it the most unusual election many of us ever experienced, leaving everything up in the air.

But current indicators must be concerning for Trump.

Polls show Democrat Joe Biden very competitive in Ohio and prepared to spend a lot of money.

Ohio has been a longtime swing state, but you wouldn’t know that from the 2016 results when Trump handily beat Democrat Hillary Clinton by 8.13 percent.

Trump has visited Ohio several times since his victory and was back in the state Thursday with a stop at the Whirlpool plant in Clyde and a major fundraiser in Cleveland.

Biden was in Ohio numerous times during the 2008 and 2012 elections as Barack Obama’s running mate, and to help Clinton in 2016 and Richard Cordray as a gubernatorial candidate in 2018. He visited the Mahoning Valley for all four races.

Biden hasn’t been to Ohio this year. His lone visit just before the planned March 17 primary was canceled because of the pandemic. The primary was delayed until April 28 for the same reason.

Biden’s campaign announced last week it was spending $1 million-plus on advertising exclusively in the Youngstown and Toledo markets.

It’s interesting Biden selected Youngstown and Toledo for his first ads of the presidential election in Ohio, and is choosing to wait to go into the state’s major markets.

In 2016, Trump became the first Republican since Richard Nixon in 1972 to win Trumbull County, capturing it by 6.22 percent. Clinton won Mahoning County by 3.28 percent. Both counties are longtime Democratic strongholds though the percentages for Democratic presidential candidates over the years have decreased.

The Biden ad, called “Backbone,” highlights his working-class background growing up in Scranton, Pa., a city similar to Youngstown and Toledo. It criticizes Donald Trump, a Republican seeking re-election, for running for president “for himself and for his friends on Wall Street.”

The ads will run through the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 17 to 20.

It’s just the beginning.

The Biden campaign announced Wednesday it would spend $280 million in advertising in 15 states, including Ohio, starting Sept. 1.

“Joe Biden understands Ohioans because he understands the dignity of work and he knows the pain we’re feeling after years of Donald Trump’s broken promises and failed policies that prioritize the wealthy over workers,” Toni Webb, Biden’s Ohio state director said. “Joe Biden has never backed down from a fight for the dignity of working people. That’s why he fought for Ohio’s autoworkers and got the auto industry back on its feet.”

In response, Dan Lusheck, a Trump campaign spokesman, said: “Joe Biden voted for NAFTA and supported job-killing trade deals, and no TV ad will trick working Americans into voting for him. President Trump delivered on his promises, replaced Joe Biden’s disastrous NAFTA deal” and is “the only candidate that can deliver the great American comeback for working families.”

Trump’s campaign has spent $3.5 million on Ohio ads since April 1, according to NBC News, including about $1 million in June in large Ohio markets.

Trump’s campaign also has reserved $18.4 million for advertising in Ohio to run between Labor Day and Election Day, according to Medium Buying, a Republican media purchasing firm in Columbus that tracks political advertising. Those ads are in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati markets.

The Trump campaign is expected to spend more money on ads in Ohio than any other state besides Florida.

Trump’s campaign already spent $44.5 million nationally across various media and plans to spend at least $145 million more.

One of the important parts of winning an election is voter outreach and it’s obvious that Trump’s campaign has Biden beat on that so far. An article in Politico earlier this week reported Trump’s campaign has knocked on a million doors a week while Biden’s has knocked on none.

Trump’s campaign never left Ohio and numerous other states after his victory four years ago while Biden is working to play catchup.

Skolnick covers politics for the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com