Speaking in front of a mixed group of political science faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students Wednesday, former United States Senator Mike DeWine spoke out for the first time at Miami University about his thoughts and predictions for the presidential primaries.

DeWine, who heads up Senator John McCain's (R-Ariz.) Ohio campaign, spoke on a wide variety of topics, including the importance of Ohio in the presidential race, Democratic and Republic election strategy and other insights surrounding the most back-and-forth primary season in recent memory.

Adeed Dawisha, professor of political science, organized the event and described it as this year's first faculty research seminar.

Dawisha said that in years past students have typically not been invited to these seminars.

"(They are) usually restricted to faculty members who can present their research and opinion if there's a world problem or event," Dawisha said.

However, despite this restriction, Dawisha said he felt that the unique Congressional history of DeWine meant that opening a small discussion up to a wider audience was important.

"You won't get this type of perspective from a professor. He knows these (candidates) intimately," Dawisha said.

DeWine, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1982 until 1992 and in the Senate from 1994 until 2006, immediately spoke of McCain-describing the Republican contender's Tuesday night victory in the Florida primary as "a must win." DeWine characterized the Republican primary race as an issue of money versus momentum, with opposing Republican candidate Mitt Romney providing a serious threat because of his financing.

DeWine said he was concerned with the amount of funds left in McCain's campaign, especially as the primary race continues into Super Tuesday. He said that the results of the 22-state vote Feb. 4 will be influenced by an unprecedented national swing campaign of airport-to-airport rallies.

Even though DeWine sees McCain as the current frontrunner, he stated that the campaign was hedging on receiving a boost in campaign donations after Florida.

"McCain needs all this money in before Friday at noon in order to buy TV ads," DeWine said.

Turning his attention to the Democratic race, DeWine echoed his thoughts of Florida's electoral importance, especially for Democratic contender Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).

"(Florida was) a victory for Clinton. It's a big state, and certainly a cross-section of America with a lot of demographics," he said.

DeWine qualified the victory, however, stating that voters who decided late went to Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and that Obama has captured the momentum on the Democratic side.

The former senator then moved on to discuss what he views as possible strategic movements after the primary season, saying that while most voters seem to favor the Democrats in this cycle, "Clinton has huge negatives," which are projected to make a potential future race between her and McCain closer than one might expect.

Even after describing the nation as being captivated by a horrendous political environment for Republicans, he said he believed that Democrats would still have to fight hard to win the presidency come November.

When asked where he thinks the major attacks on Republicans would come from, DeWine emphasized the importance of voting records being a major exploitable factor-even for Obama, who is the most junior senator running.

"It's always easier to attack someone with a voting record," DeWine said. "But even Obama has an Illinois State Senate record."

DeWine concluded the group discussion by explaining the importance of the media on the election, and the pivotal role that Ohio will play.

"(McCain is) still assuming that Ohio will play a pivotal role," DeWine said. "The eyes of the nation will be focused on our state."

When asked about the event, Dawisha was pleased with the information gained from the discussion and felt that DeWine's take on information about the Obama, Clinton and McCain campaign strategies was a unique way to view the current political situation.

"This was a very interesting and informative session, and better than getting the news from the paper or CNN," Dawisha said.

Ohio's primary vote will be Tuesday, March 4-one month after February's Super Tuesday.