Inside Pitch

Ohio's 18 members of the Electoral College - all pledged to vote for President Obama and Vice President Biden - meet at noon Monday at the Statehouse in Columbus to do their duty.

Lists of 18 electors were submitted by both political parties before the election. Since Obama won Ohio on Nov. 6 with 50.7 percent of the vote, the 18 people submitted by the Democrats will take their seats in the Ohio Senate chamber Monday. 

Ohio Democrats will hunker down in Washington for next month's presidential inauguration at one of the city's most luxurious and historic hotels - the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Avenue NW.

If you want to go along for the fun, there's a rather hefty price tag.

According to an e-mail sent out by the Ohio Democratic Party, the "Mayflower Package" costs $4,200 per person.

Members of Ohio Action Now, a coalition of pro-Obama groups and individuals, plans a Friday rally near Republican congressman Steve Chabot's downtown office to urge him to support President Obama's plans to raise taxes on Americans making over $250,000 a year.

Chabot opposes Obama's plan.

Ohio Action Now leaders say they will present a report from Innovation Ohio, one of their member groups, that they say will show flaws in the budget proposal from House Speaker John Boehner.