Here's a local story out of Cincinnati that illustrates the GOP's ever declining strength in Ohio. Wednesday, Hamilton County commissioner candidate David Pepper (D) released a poll that showed him leading against his longtime Republican incumbent Phil Heimlich by 5 points.

Why is this important news for Dems? Hamilton County is a staunch GOP stronghold where county commissioner seats have historically almost always gone to Republicans (Todd Portune is currently the only Dem on the 3 person commission; his wins in '00 and '04 were largely the result of protest votes against a football stadium debacle.)

Pepper's poll comes as a poll released this week by 1st congressional district candidate John Cranley (D) shows him running neck and neck with incumbent Rep. Steve Chabot (R) in a district that encompasses most of western Hamilton County. Republicans are worried enough about this race that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has already stumped for Chabot and Vice President Dick Cheney plans to hold a fundraiser for him in late August.

So, with a Democrat leading in the race for county commissioner and Republicans bringing in the big guns for Chabot, once thought to be very safe, could one of the reddest of red areas in the country be turning blue? One thing is for sure, Republicans in Ohio are clearly very nervous. The Republican candidates in the races mentioned above refuse to release their own internal polls.