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GOP Primary Race Getting Dirty In Ohio Special Election
The Republican primary in the special election for the late Congressman Paul Gillmor's (R-OH) seat is getting dirty, and it can be explained in three words: Club For Growth.
The Club is supporting state Senator Steve Buehrer against state Rep. Bob Latta, whose father Del Latta retired from the same Congressional seat back in 1988. Here's their new ad attacking Latta as a tax-hiking liberal:
There's more after the jump.
Latta has his own ads in defense of his record, such as this one where he argues that one single, solitary vote is being distorted against his hard-working, conservative record. And in a fun twist, Latta is running as a proud legacy candidate, repeatedly reminding the viewer that "my dad" was in Congress:
Democrats have united around Robin Weirauch, a former assistant director at the Center for Regional Development at Bowling Green State University, who was previously the nominee in 2004 and 2006. In 2006, she received 43% against a well-entrenched incumbent in a non-targeted race. If the GOP race gets bad enough, Weirauch could potentially have an outside shot.
But a word of caution: This district gave President Bush over 60% of the vote in 2004 — and the last time a Democrat held this seat, Franklin Roosevelt was president.
Wasn't Latta's dad one of the most fiscally conservative Congressmen in the 70s and 80s?
How quickly we forget Gramm-Latta from the early Reagan years. It's a study on how times have changed in the GOP?
October 30, 2007 4:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ted Strickland and Sherrod Brown won this district. Does anyone know what changed here that turned the district so much in 2006? I know there were a lot of jobs lost... Any insight?
October 30, 2007 4:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
What?!? Jake D. hasn't written a teatise singing the accolades of the 'Club for Growth' yet?
I am a big fan of Republicans eating their own. We need encourage that sort of behavior at every juncture.
October 30, 2007 4:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think that Strickland and Brown won this district because the GOP ran some pretty bad candidates in 2006. Kenneth Blackwell was essentially an unelectable candidate and DeWine was pretty unpopular. My feeling, though, is the GOP will carry hold this district.
October 30, 2007 4:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Steve,
You think Mike DeWine was worse than Bush? I mean he was bad, but I feel like something else must have happened? The Ohio 2nd District made a similar shift in 2006 (was never competitive and now is considered very competitive). I'm not from Northwest Ohio but maybe its a Tom Noe thing?
October 30, 2007 5:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Most Club for Growth candidates are complete nuts.
October 30, 2007 6:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Strickland and Brown won for different reasons as far as I can tell. There was a HUGE amount of disatisfaction with the GOP in OH in 2006. The last I heard of Taft's numbers, his approval rate was 18%. That is rock bottom level. Strickland was the answer to corruption and part of kicking the GOP out of the White House.
Brown won because that district in Ohio cared a lot about the Iraq War, which is something he could capitalize on in a way that Wierauch couldn't.
It will be interesting to see if a similar environment exists in 2008.
October 30, 2007 7:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bill Clinton only lost the 5th by 2 points in 1996, as well.
October 30, 2007 10:10 PM | Reply | Permalink