The themes of last year’s State of the Union played well in Ohio, likely no accident given the state’s key role in presidential elections. In fact, a focus group in Columbus came away giving the president strong points as a leader and supporter of the middle class.

There is no presidential race this year, but Ohio’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown says Obama should stick with what resonates here.

“I hope he does what he did last year when he talked about manufacturing and jobs. There are few things more important than that in our state, in Ohio, and I look to the president to keep that focus on jobs. “

The president is expected to underscore the economy, including the need to raise more tax revenue as well as make spending cuts to balance the budget. And there, he’s likely to get no support from Ohio’s other senator, Republican Rob Portman. In a written statement last week, Portman argued that “spending, not a lack of revenue, is driving our long-term deficits,” and that “more taxes won’t solve our deficit problems.