(Cross-posted at Ohio 2006)
News from Ohio Congressional elections (details below the fold):
Poll Shows Wilson (D) Leading Blasdel (R) in OH-6
Fundraising Booms as Scandal Looms in OH-18
OH-14: LaTourette (R) Returned Tribe Donation
Kostyo (D) Joins OH-4 Race
Poll Shows Wilson (D) Leading Blasdel (R) in OH-6
The excellent blog High and Broad has the numbers from a Cooper & Secrest poll commissioned by State Sen. Charles A. Wilson Jr. (D-St. CLairsville), showing him leading House Speaker Pro Tem Charles Blasdel (R-East Liverpool) by 42% to 24%, with 34% undecided. Especially interesting is the generic ballot question ("Would you vote for a Democrat or a Republican if the election were held today?"), which goes for the Democrat by 52% to 28%. This is a district that went for Bush twice. However, as blogger Model 500 points out, it is a fundamentally Democratic district that just doesn't like a liberal like John Kerry. Charlie Wilson is a relatively conservative Democrat, and if this poll is any indication he's in great shape to succeed gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland.
Fundraising Booms as Scandal Looms in OH-18
This story in the Chillicothe Gazette details the fundraising success of Rep. Ney (R-Heath) in the last quarter of 2005, after news of Jack Abramoff's indictment broke. Ney raised $277,472 in the quarter, mostly from corporate PACs, unions, trade associations, and fellow members of Congress. Less than a third came from individuals. Only about a fifth came from donors with Ohio addresses. After expenses he had $582,066 on hand at the end of 2005.
On the Democratic side, Chillicothe Mayor Joe Sulzer (D) reported $170,697 raised during the last three months of 2005 and $222,418 on hand at the end of the year. Zack Space (D-Dover) and Jeff Woollard (D-Lowell) reportedly did not file with the FEC.
OH-14: LaTourette (R) Returned Tribe Donation
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Mississippi Choctaws gave $1,000 to the re-election campaign of Steven LaTourette (R-Concord Township) on October 29, 2005, and LaTourette returned the money on December 27, 2005. This donation is too late to have been at the direct request of indicted Republican activist and lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but Abramoff's former associate Neil Volz (also former chief of staff to Bob Ney) might have been involved. The revelation of LaTourette's receipt and return of the Indian tribe's money comes a week after news that he wrote two letters to the Bush administration seeking a favor for another Abramoff client in 2002. LaTourette denies any quid pro quo in that affair.
Kostyo (D) Joins OH-4 Race
This article in The Courier reports that Findlay attorney John Kostyo (D) has joined the fray in Ohio's 4th Congressional District, seeking to replace the retiring Mike Oxley (R). He faces Lima attorney Richard Siferd (D) in the primary. The crowded Republican field includes State Sen. Jim Jordan (R-Urbana), who is the top fund-raiser, as well as attorney Charles Weasel (R-Findlay), State Rep. Mike Gilb (R-Findlay), businessman Jim Stahl (R-Findlay), and Mansfield-Richland Area Chamber of Commerce President Kevin Nestor (R). Other Republicans considering a bid are businessman Frank A. Gugliemi (R-Findlay) and attorney Garth Brown (R-Findlay). There is an Iraq War veteran in the race, Nathan Martin, who appears from his web site to be an independent.