The city of Chillicothe reaffirmed its status as Ohio's bellwether for a third consecutive presidential election.

Final, unofficial results from the city's 29 precincts were within 2 points of Ohio's overall outcome. The state gave Democratic nominee Barack Obama 51 percent of its votes, and he got 50 percent from Chillicothe. Ohio gave Republican nominee John McCain 47 percent of its votes and Chillicothe gave him 48 percent.

The Dispatch chose Chillicothe as the base for a monthly series on the presidential race after the city proved to be a predictor of the statewide election in the previous two elections.

In 2004, results from the city's precincts differed from the overall outcome in Ohio by less than a percentage point - 0.98. The city was even more accurate in 2000, deviating from the statewide result by only 0.05 point.

City voters got a front-row seat to the election. Both Obama and McCain campaigned in Chillicothe, as did McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. In addition, reporters from across the country and world took the temperature of local voters throughout the campaign.

jhallett@dispatch.com