The call came on my cell phone early in the morning, February 17, 2010, from the Ohio Democratic Party in Columbus. As I drove back from a Social Security Disability hearing in Cincinnati, I was informed that the man who intended to run on the Democratic ticket for the House Representative seat in the 67th District had decided not to run after all. The spot was now vacant, and the Ohio Dems were desperate for a candidate. The deadline for filing was 4:00 PM the next day, and I was the only prospect on their list. I told the caller that I would give it serious thought and phone her back with my decision in a few hours.
By then I had entered Warren County, the red zone. The 67th District covers most of Warren County, a beautiful and relatively prosperous region of Ohio with 100% of its elected leaders wearing the Republican brand. When George W. Bush was getting flack over the torture and prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison and the questionable existence of WMD's during his re-election campaign, he visited the county seat of Lebanon and was greeted like a king. Likewise, when McCain chose Palin as his running mate, one of the early stops was Lebanon because it was such a great PR opportunity. Throngs of supporters cheered in the streets surrounding The Golden Lamb, Ohio's oldest inn, and I had a firsthand view of it from the second story window in my law office. The enthusiasm and commotion in the streets below would leave anyone with the impression that Obama was doomed come November.
And that's the way it is in Warren County, Ohio. To the Democrat, it feels like the whole world is Republican and to challenge that label is nothing short of laughable. To run as a Democrat with serious hopes of winning is also laughable. And yet, at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, February 17, I called back the Ohio Dems and said "I'm in." Ironically, it was the recent upset in Massachusetts in which moderate Republican Scott Brown seized Ted Kennedy's former senatorial seat that pushed me over the edge. In that election, Martha Coakley shared the same kind of "resting on your laurels" complacency of most elected Republican officials in Warren County. As a Democrat in blue territory, Coakley obviously thought the Republican Scott Brown didn't stand a chance, and thus she put little effort into her campaign. This gave Brown the underdog advantage. One should never underestimate the opposing party, no matter how improbable the climate for victory.
My upcoming diary entries will reflect the triumphs and the discouragements involved with the candidacy of a Democrat in a largely Republican County.
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