On August 10, a columnist in the Minneapolis Star Tribune presented information which affirmed one of the central points made in Ken Hanson's rebuttal to Associated Press reporter Julie Carr-Smyth's recent complaints that Ohio gubernatorial candidates are battling for gun votes while “only” 400,000 out of 11 million Ohioans have a hunting license or a concealed handgun license.

In his rebuttal to the AP story, Hanson pointed out that Smyth was "comparing apples to basketballs" since only 7 million are even eligible to vote, and less than half of that actually do. "Here is a hint, Ms. Smyth," Hanson wrote, "the candidates don’t care about the 11 million Ohioans, they only care about the ones who vote."

From the Star Tribune:

The issue is important because another poll, taken during the last presidential election, showed that nine of 10 sportsmen of voting age in 2000 in Ohio, New Mexico and Florida -- important national swing states, each -- went to the polls.

Assuming that's true, sportsmen that year made up 38 percent of the total vote in New Mexico, 33 percent of the total in Florida and 27 percent of the total in Ohio.