Democrat Barack Obama has never campaigned in Arkansas, where voters have correctly picked every president since favoring Richard Nixon in 1972.
The Illinois senator had good reason to skip over the state in the Democratic Party primary in Arkansas. In that contest, he essentially competed against power couple Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, Arkansas' world-famous son. Obama secured 26 percent of the primary vote; Hillary Clinton won 70 percent.
Still, recent genealogical research shows the presumed Democratic nominee for president can claim personal ties to the state. As traced by Madison County genealogist Joy Russell, Obama's ancestors lived in the Republican stronghold of northwest Arkansas in the 19th century.
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