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Friday, June 29, 2007

Ohio 1: the 'most competitive' race in the state?

A "Battleground Brief" memo went out to members of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) from executive director Brian Wolff this week listing three "races to watch" in the 2008 congressional campaign cycle.

One of them was Ohio's 1st Congressional District, where Republican Steve Chabot is expected to run for an eighth term in the House.

State Rep. Steve Driehaus is the Democrat taking on Chabot; and he's described by Wolff as a "strong fiscal conservative."

Ohio's 1st District, Wolff says, "is perhaps the most competitive in the entire state." The key to winning, according to the DCCC, "will be to make sure the Democratic base turnout is elevated."

"The presidential election should also help with with this race,'' Wolff said.

Some Democrats around here believe that the Democratic presidential candidate who could help Driehaus the most is Barack Obama. No other congressional district in the country now represented by a Republican has a larger African-American population than Ohio's 1st District. If Obama is the Democratic nominee, the theory goes, it would drive African-American turnout through the roof.


18 Comments:

at 4:15 PM, June 29, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Once again, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in WASHINGTON DC has lost sight of the facts on the ground here in Ohio...

They are wrong about the 1st District. Actually, the most winnable Congressional District in Ohio is the 2nd District. The only thing they need to do is to open their eyes to the right Democratic Candidate...

Here's a good one...

www.JimPARKER4ad.blogspot.com

But, I'm sure that the political powers in Washington DC will follow the money trail instead of the candidates who can actually win elections. The Democratic Party has been losing the 2nd district for almost 40 years. If the right candidate could ever find his way out of the primary, this would be a different story...

 
at 5:33 PM, June 29, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I see goofy Parker is back.

 
at 5:36 PM, June 29, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jim, no one is fooled - we all know that was you in the first post. But you're right, the DCC needs to fund candidates that can actually win, which is why they won't be funding you.

Steve Driehaus is a terrific candidate, a westsider with deep roots in the 1st CD who consistently gets bipartisan support. I'm sure Combover Steve is getting pretty worried.

 
at 6:14 PM, June 29, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Surely Chabot is already trying to think up some outrageous lies about Driehaus. It'll be tough for him to top his last campaign ads. (John Cranley wants to see 7 year olds tased! With FIFTY THOUSAND VOLTS!)

Why must Republicans resort to lying all the time?

 
at 8:16 PM, June 29, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Before you accuse Steve of lying, (and it actually wasn’t) you might want to check into who paid for that Cranley ad. It's called a 527 paid for by an independent group. The ad was anti Cranley but not pro-Chabot. From the partial birth abortion ban, his investigation into high gas prices, his protection of the Tonga’s Rainforest and his constant assault on congressional pay raises and pork its clear this guy gets it.

 
at 10:12 PM, June 29, 2007 Blogger Unknown said...

As long as Mean Jean Schmidt is the Republican nominee, Oh-2 will sadly be the most vulnerable. Chabot's district was split between Kerry and Bush while Mean Jean's district went for Bush by 28 points. Yet Chabot won his race by 6 points against the best possible Democratic opposition, while Mean Jean only won by 1 point against a 2nd-tier Democrat.

If the Democrats had spent the money against Mean Jean that they wasted against Chabot, they'd have beaten Schmidt. Even though Chabot's district is far more Democratic, Mean Jean is still more endangered because of her terrible political skills.

 
at 10:34 AM, June 30, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chabot votes no, then takes the dough.

 
at 12:27 PM, June 30, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let's see... Roxanne Qualls, Mark Longabaugh, John Cranley, etc, etc, etc.

Every other year the D's and the Big Labor bosses start drooling and wasting the money that they steal from their members (most of whom vote for Chabot)to run the same old ad's against Steve.

Guess what guys - it didn't work before and it wont work now.

Stop wasting your member's money.

 
at 12:57 PM, June 30, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Folks... Best of luck in the 1st district. But remember, we had a good candidate who was extremely well funded the last time and he still didn't pull it off. The problem isn't the people on the ground here in Ohio. The problem is the DCCC in DC. If you don't beleive me, call them up and tell them you are running for US Congress and see what they say. Trust me. I always tell the truth. Theie comments will begin with raise $1.6 million dollars. That is the beginning of the story of why we keep losing this district.

As for the Ohio 2nd. Every year is a potentially good year in this district. It doesn't matter who the opposition candidate is... You just need the right person to run. Right now, you have three choices. Each one of them has their own individual strengths. The problem is that the DCCC in Washington DC hasn't paid any attention to two of the three. I guess that's the job of the party. Come on HCDF... Let's get these candidates in front of people in the same room at the same time NOW. The "plenty of time for that" philosophy is not working.

www.JimPARKER4ad.blogspot.com

 
at 2:48 PM, June 30, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

That theory about African American turnout is clever, but not at all correct. Barack Obama would infuriate the more racist residents on the west side who likely would have stayed home because of a lackluster republican candidate. A candidate like Joe Biden would help more because he would have greater bipartisan support.

 
at 7:08 PM, June 30, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

CincyJeff, your breathing to much of the foul air at COAST HQ. I think the DCCC has a lot more polling information than you are getting from Brinkman. The DCCC knows where they can win and where they don't have a chance. The 2nd district is not at the top of the list. Sorry Jeff get a life.

 
at 7:10 PM, June 30, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cincy Jeff when are you going to leave your parents basement and see daylight.

 
at 11:29 AM, July 01, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

The DCC has it right. Driehaus is for real. He's hard-working, intelligent, straight shooter, - he represents us. No more lies and dirty lawnmower blades.

 
at 6:25 PM, July 01, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

The entire Driehaus family is a bunch of liberal Westside wannabees...they are just as Westside as Cranley is (ha!). The only reason he gets "cross-over" votes is because he doesn't have real opposition.

 
at 9:39 AM, July 02, 2007 Blogger Unknown said...

I don't have to look at polling when I can look at real elections results:

1st District - Chabot defeats well-funded, dream Democrat by 6 points

2nd District - Mean Jean struggles to 1 point victory over underfuned, 2nd-tier Democrat

That says much. Now if the Democrats want to continue making strategic mistakes, that's fine by me.

 
at 10:16 AM, July 02, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Driehaus is not a candidate as atrong as Qualls or Cranley. He has good roots, but no guts. In Columbus they think he is an arrogant little nuisance, and he is.

 
at 3:34 PM, July 03, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Steve Chabot is the only Republican I voted for last year. He's the only honest person in Washington. I'll be voting for him again next year.

 
at 12:37 AM, July 10, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would not be surprised if a real pro-life democrat jumped in the race to challenge Driehaus.I think the primary will bring out a lot of real dems who may not want a dem who has the same position as Chabot on reproductive freedom.

 
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