Democrats focus on trade on primary eve

WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- The two Democratic U.S. presidential hopefuls ramped up their rhetoric Monday, the day before voters in delegate-rich Texas and Ohio go to primary polls.

Rhode Island and Vermont also have primaries Tuesday.

Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York tried to convince Ohio voters Sunday they can fix the economy, including renegotiating the North America Free Trade Agreement, which most Ohioans blame for manufacturing jobs losses, CNN reported.

A "poll of polls" calculated by CNN indicates tight races in both states. The Texas survey of likely primary voters had Obama leading Clinton, 47 percent to 45 percent, with 8 percent undecided. In Ohio, the poll of polls indicated Clinton at 48 percent, Obama at 43 percent and 9 percent undecided.

The Texas poll of polls averaged five surveys conducted Feb. 26-March 1. The Ohio poll of polls averaged four surveys conducted in the same time frame.

Their message in Ohio differed from speeches in Texas, which benefited from NAFTA, The Politico reported. When in Texas, both candidates noted while NAFTA was good for Texas, it negatively affected other states and needed to be fixed to benefit as many U.S. regions as possible.