A key freshman House Democrat, Zack Space of Ohio, is now facing a much better playing field for his re-election campaign than many people would have expected a year ago. The latest fundraising numbers show Space with almost $1 million on hand, compared to only $36,000 for his low-profile opponent, former state agriculture director Fred Dailey.

The district voted 57%-42% for President Bush in 2004, and went Democratic in 2006 due in large part to the spectacle of GOP Rep. Bob Ney's corruption, resignation and replacement on the ballot by an unpopular candidate.

But with the GOP's finances in overall disarray -- Dailey apparently wasn't able to raise much money after he won the nomination -- Space may very well be on his way to re-election unless the Republicans can get their act together. CQ has changed their rating from "Leans Democratic" to the much more solid "Democrat Favored."

It's early in the cycle, but a Republican candidate in a top-tier race for Congress has already dropped out. Ohio Coal Association president Mike Carey, who had been seeking the nomination to face freshman Democrat Zack Space, has withdrawn his candidacy, saying he did not want to lose time with his wife and five-year old son.

The seat will still be a top target for the Republicans, as it voted 57% for President Bush in 2004, and went Democratic last year after the resignation and corruption-related guilty plea of longtime Republican incumbent Bob Ney.

From the Election Protection coalition's morning update email:

EP volunteers and the EP hotline received widespread [reports] of voting machine problems leading to delays, as well as problems with confusion implementing the state’s photo ID requirement. Additionally, one polling place opened late because of an overnight break in. A local TV station aired footage of Congresswoman Jean Schmidt’s battle with an optical scan voting machine, which repeatedly rejected her ballot.

In a sign that the massive amounts of cash being pumped by national GOP strategists into Bob Ney's old district aren't overcoming the lingering voter distaste with Ney's corruption scandal, CQ Politics has just changed its rating of the race between Dem Zack Space and Ney's handpicked successor, Joy Padgett, from "No Clear Favorite" to "Leans Democratic":

It appears that this significant outlay by the GOP’s House campaign committee did not hinder Space’s momentum, even though he likely would be a longshot candidate were it not for the scandal-driven downfall of the long-popular Ney.

The largely rural eastern Ohio 18th, which includes small cities such as Zanesville and Chillicothe, has a conservative lean...Ney in 2002 didn’t even draw a Democratic opponent, and in 2004 defeated a little-known Democrat with 66 percent to win a sixth House term.

But the political environment in Ohio now is far different today than it was two years ago....At a time when most voters are dissatisfied with the direction of the country and with a Congress that the GOP controls, Ohio Republicans’ problems are redoubled by numerous ethics controversies involving not just Ney, but outgoing GOP Gov. Bob Taft and several of his aides and political associates.

CQ's full analysis here.

The Newark Advocate, a right-leaning Ohio paper, endorsed GOP Rep. Bob Ney in 2004. But this year, it's refusing to back the GOP's handpicked successor to Ney, Joy Padgett, and instead is enthusiastically throwing its support to Dem Zack Space. The paper cites Padgett's questionable history of financial mishaps and dirty politics, arguing that her "past conduct presents huge warning signs." The full endorsement is here.

Karl Rove is emerging as the go-to guy to replace all the featured guests who are cancelling fundraising and political appearances because of Foleygate. The Associated Press reports today that Rove is the new featured host of a Washington fundraiser for Ohio House candidate Joy Padgett that was supposed to be headlined by Hastert until he pulled out a few days ago. As Election Central noted earlier today, Rove is also rushing in to host a political event for Tom Reynolds — also badly damaged by Foleygate — after John McCain bailed on the event. The GOP scandals are so bad that Rove is the only one left candidates will allow themselves to be seen with.

This is worth a look. The NRCC is running a new ad that blasts Zack Space, the frontrunning Dem candidate for Bob Ney's district, for taking a grand total of $5,000 from the D.C.-based Council for a Livable World. The ad hammers the the think tank for advocating for defense spending cuts and opposing missile defense systems, and it concludes that the Space-backing group is "radical" and "dangerous." But there's just one problem: As the Cleveland Plain-Dealer points out, the Council's board includes retired generals, it "was founded by scientists who developed the atomic bomb," and best of all, it is "generally considered centrist and regularly endorses Republicans." Radical it isn't. View the ad here.

GOP House candidate Joy Padgett has benefitted extensively from outgoing Congressman Bob Ney. He's vacating the seat she's now vying for, and he's even endorsed her for it. So what does she give him in return? She demands that he resign his seat immediately. TPM muckraker's Paul Kiel has the details.

On the heels of Bob Ney's guilty plea today, House Democrats are circulating a list of more than 60 GOP lawmakers who have accepted a combined $472,000 in campaign contributions from the disgraced Congressman, challenging them to return the money. The list reflects an ongoing effort by Dem strategists to nationalize corruption as an issue -- a strategy that polls suggest has had mixed results. As of now, at least one Republican House member, Rep. Geoff Davis (KY-04), is apparently refusing to return the money. The Blotter has the list here.

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.

It looks like outgoing GOP Rep. Bob Ney's handpicked successor, Joy Padgett, is facing a bit of competition in the Sept. 14 primary to replace Ney: Eight more Republicans -- count 'em -- have filed for a spot on the ballot, local election officials tell TPM muckraker's Paul Kiel.

Embattled Rep. Bob Ney (R) formally withdraws from race, triggers special primary.

Joy Padgett, Bob Ney's (R) handpicked successor, wins right to run for his seat. Who ruled in her favor? Her former running mate, that's who.

As TPM muckraker's Paul Kiel wrote yesterday, Ohio Republicans are seeking a ruling from Secretary of State Ken Blackwell on whether State Sen. Joy Padgett can run for Congress in place of disgraced outgoing Rep. Bob Ney.

Guess what's happened now? Blackwell's office has referred the state GOP's request to the office of the Attorney General, Jim Petro. And who's Jim Petro? He was the gubernatorial candidate earlier this year when Padgett lost her bid for Lieutenant Governor -- yep, he was her former running mate. So we can expect ironclad impartiality on Petro's decision, then.

Now that embattled congressman Bob Ney (R) has dropped his re-election bid, we thought you might want to get to know a thing or two about his handpicked successor in OH-18, State Sen. Joy Padgett.

Here's one thing you should know about her: A couple of years ago she distributed a photo of a political opponent meeting with a Hezbollah leader. This picture, Padgett said, showed that said opponent was a member of the "Blame America Crowd." But guess what -- the opponent, Terry Anderson, had actually been been held captive by terrorists from 1985 to 1991. The picture was taken when he went back to Lebanon to confront his former captors.

Read more »

Associated Press:

U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, dogged by an influence peddling probe in Washington, will not seek re-election, state Sen. Joy Padgett said early Monday.

Ney called Padgett on Saturday and asked the fellow Republican to run in his place, saying that defending himself has been a strain on his family, she said...

She said Ney told her, "that there's only so much he can take. He said, 'I have to do this.'"

Padgett told The Associated Press she would run for Ney's seat.

UPDATE: Ney confirms he's not running and releases statement.

Zack Space, Rep. Bob Ney's (R) Democratic challenger, recently released a poll showing him ahead of Ney by 11 percentage points. In turn, the Ney campaign released a poll showing Ney ahead, but only by 4 points. Not even Ney pollster Glen Bolger sounds impressed by those results: the Columbus Dispatch calls his assessment ("Bob Ney is still in this race") "less-than-glowing."

Read more »

If Rep. Bob Ney (R) were lucky, perhaps the latest bad news would’ve broken late on the Friday afternoon before what will be for many a four-day weekend. Ney’s troubles go back way before this week, of course, but perhaps the best-case scenario at this point would be for news like this to surface while most people are barbecuing or watching fireworks.

Read more »

Heartwarming news from yesterday’s Columbus Dispatch. Earlier this month, Rep. Bob Ney (R) drove through the night from Ohio to Washington to give a group of 84 middle school students a personal tour of the Capitol. A traffic delay had caused the group to miss its scheduled tour, and when the office of Rep. Michael G. Oxley (R-OH), who represents the school’s district, said there was nothing it could do, tour guide Violet Cummings called Ney, her representative. Ney came through, and now Cummings, a Democrat elected to the Cambridge (OH) Board of Education, has switched her support from Ney’s challenger, Zack Space, to the embattled congressman.

Read more »

Last week the League of Conservation Voters added seven lawmakers to its 2006 “Dirty Dozen.” One would think that as a rule the politicians on this list would not celebrate such a distinction. Rep. Bob Ney (R), however, is the exception that proves the rule.

Read more »