Joy Padgett, the Ohio GOP's chosen candidate for the seat of outgoing Rep. Bob Ney, easily took yesterday's special primary against four other contenders who hoped for the GOP nomination to go up against Dem Zack Space for the seat in November. Padgett won with 66% of the vote. Space has made a campaign out of Ney's ethical travails, vowing not to let any lobbyists fund his trips or gifts, but Padgett claims she's not worried about being tied to Ney. It won't help matters for Padgett, however, that the New York Times is reporting that Ney has agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges related to his dealings with lobbyist Jack Abramoff.