Here's why Ohio keeps popping up on the headlines. Why is the win so crucial.

Ohio is so important because at the moment it seems very difficult for Mitt Romney to be elected president without winning Ohio. This is because President Obama enters the election with a "safe state" advantage: he began the election campaign all but guaranteed to win states that contained 237 electors; Romney, in contrast, starts with only 190 electors guaranteed (including Missouri), reports Al Jazeera.  

Ohio has 18 electors, which means if Obama wins it he is already at 255 electors, or only 15 shy of what he needs to be elected president of the United States. 

There are many, many ways he could pick up these electors: He could win Florida. He could win New Hampshire and Virginia. He could win Iowa and Wisconsin, etc. Bottom line, if Romney loses Ohio, he can only afford to lose at best one or two more swing states, and thus the importance of Ohio.

"In 2000, Al Gore received approximately half a million more votes than George W Bush, but, as history records, Bush became president."

The count so far: Obama: 147, Romney: 158