Montgomery bows out, then bows in

Foundering in the polls and in campaign fundraising, State Auditor Betty Montgomery pulled the plug on her campaign for governor Monday, leaving Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and Attorney General Jim Petro to fight it out between themselves.

But Montgomery had no sooner folded her tent in the governor's race when she showed up Tuesday morning at the Wood County courthouse, where her political career began as county prosecutor in the 1980s, and announced that she would instead run for attorney general, a job she held for two terms.

A press release from the Montgomery campaign made it clear the candidate felt right at home making her switcheroo at the Wood County courthouse, "standing in the same packed courtroom where she once prosecuted rapists, child abusers and murderers.''

The fact is, attorney general is the job Betty Montgomery liked best all along; and it was her moderate, pro-choice philosophy was not selling well with potential Republican primary voters and deep-pocket contributors, who tend to like their statewide candidates to veer sharply to the right, even if they have to drift back to the middle in a general election campaign.

It will no doubt please the folks at Ohio Republican party headquarters in Columbus, who like contested primaries as much as they like root canals.

The question now - with Blackwell holding a convincing lead in the polls, can Petro - whose running mate, Phil Heimlich, took a hike on him last week - be far behind in jumping ship?

Stay tuned.