A day after she appeared at a rally with thousands of supporters, Sen. Hillary Clinton adopted a more subdued campaign approach yesterday, reaching out to workers at a White Marsh auto plant to talk about ways to boost the nation's economy.
Clinton's visit to the General Motors Corp. transmission plant included a candid discussion about the economy at a time when the issue has taken center stage in the election, but it capped an abridged and sometimes troubled campaign that unfolded here as Sen. Barack Obama's momentum soared.
Polls open today in the Maryland, Virginia and District of Columbia primaries, but the election's focus has shifted west - to next month's contests in Texas, Ohio and Wisconsin - and Clinton and Obama will have left the region before tonight's results are tallied. Clinton will campaign in Texas, and Obama will be in Wisconsin.
"I am absolutely looking to Ohio and Texas because we know those are states where they represent the broad electorate of this country," Clinton said, deflecting questions about her campaign's standing after Obama's strong victories in Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington state over the weekend. "We feel very good about where we are."
More than 400 people work at the plant Clinton toured yesterday, where workers build 90 hybrid transmissions each day.
Joined by Gov. Martin O'Malley and Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, Clinton walked through the facility and spoke with workers before peering under the hood of a shiny, black Chevrolet hybrid parked on the plant floor. She addressed about two dozen employees, fielding questions about health care, the auto market and the war in Iraq.
Jamal Starr, a 32-year-old industrial engineer, noted that Internet technology firms and a booming housing market had lifted the economy from its depths in the past. He asked Clinton which industries she believed would jerk the country out of its current sluggishness this time.
"I think everybody would agree that right now we're either heading for or we're currently in a recession," Starr said.
Clinton touted her plan to create environmental jobs in the so-called green collar sector. She said creating a greater market for hybrid vehicles would boost the number of jobs at auto plants such as the one in White Marsh. She suggested that jobs could be created through government programs to weatherize the homes of low-income families.
"This is the equivalent of the space race," Clinton said of the effort to build up the nation's green industry. "This is what we did 40 years ago and it generated all these new jobs and wealth."
Clinton's event was a sharp contrast to the highly attended rallies organized by Obama yesterday, including one in downtown Baltimore. On Sunday, Clinton spoke at a rally attended by thousands at Bowie State University.
Yesterday afternoon, Clinton spoke to a University of Virginia political science class. Hundreds of students lined up outside the building before the event, and a small group screamed her name and waved as she stepped out of her motorcade.
Instead of giving a speech, Clinton spent more than an hour answering questions on biofuel, universal health care, religion, embryonic stem cell research and her significance as a woman running for president.
One of her most fiery moments came in response to a question about a piece by conservative columnist George Will on her and her husband's political tactics. In response, Clinton said she knew how to win an election against Republicans.
"I know what it will take for any Democrat to win," she said. "I don't expect Republicans to give up the White House without a vigorous fight."
Sean Conway, a 25-year-old law student from New York who carried a Clinton campaign sign, said the speech reinforced his belief that Clinton is the most qualified presidential candidate.
Referring to one of Obama's campaign themes, he added, "If you look at this notion of change, it's more of a campaign strategy than any actual platform that can be used in the White House."
But Clinton was also hounded by questions yesterday about her campaign, which has faced a rocky few days. She lent her campaign $5 million - a move, she said, that spurred millions of dollars in new donations - and her campaign manager resigned.
She brushed aside concerns last night that her campaign was in trouble during an interview on WJLA-7 in Washington in a time slot that had originally been planned for a debate between her and Obama.
"I've been around a long time. Sometimes you're up. Sometimes you're down," she said. "We're winning the states we have to win. The big states are really going to determine whether Democrats win."
john.fritze@baltsun.com josh.mitchell@baltsun.com
Sun reporter David Nitkin contributed to this article.