Ohio has 33 state senators. Only 11 of them are Democrats. Part of this is due to the general ineptness of the Democratic party structure in Ohio. The leadership has been running the party into the ground.
If you don't live in Ohio, you might think, "So? How does this affect me?". I see several ways this affects all Democrats in the country. Ohio is a large state with 21 electoral votes, more than all but 6 states. It is a swing state about which it is said, "As Ohio goes, so goes the nation". We can't allow Republicans to dominate the state government at all levels if we want those electoral votes in the D column.
Secondly, representatives and senators at the state level help fill the pipeline to send Democrats to the U.S. Congress. Thirdly, the state senators determine how the Congressional districts are gerrymandered which directly affects the likelihood of sending Democrats to Congress.
It seems unlikely to impossible that the Democrats will win back the Ohio legistlature this year. However, I feel it is important for all Democrats to start paying attention to the state level races for the long term health of the party. Due to two term term-limits there are a lot of open seats and with long term planning, Democrats should be able to win back 6 seats in the next few years.
There is one seat that I feel the Democrats have a good chance to win this year. That seat is the Ohio Senate's 20th district.
You can see where the seat is by checking here.
http://www.osuedc.org/maps-static/legdist.php?dist=senate
The man running for the seat is Terry Anderson. You might recognize that name, Terry Anderson. He's fairly famous and one big thing going for him is his name recognition.
If you don't know him (from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Anderson) "Terry A. Anderson (born October 27, 1947) is the best known, and longest held, of a group of American hostages captured by Shiite Hezbollah partisans in an attempt to drive the U.S. from Lebanon... (held 1985-1991)...Since his release Anderson has been actively involved in freedom of the press issues. He has taught courses at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. He has also been a frequent talk show guest, a columinst, a radio talk-show host and an activist for charitable causes."
http://www.terryandersonforohiosenate.com/
Remeber, state level races cost less. In 2002 a little over $11 million was spent on all of the races for the Ohio senate. Most winning campaigns needed in the range of $100-200K
The incumbent is Joy Padgett but she has only been in the seat since being appointed in January of this year although she's been a state rep since 1993. I couldn't find any financial info on her or even a website.
I am sure that if Terry Anderson can get some money to get his message out that he can win. I also feel that his winning and getting out the vote will help John Kerry win in the Appalachian part of Ohio. Right now he is having a fund raiser to try and raise $5000 in five days. Can we kossacks help this race and get him $5000 in one day? Are there 100 of us willing to Terry win a seat back for progressives in Ohio by giving $50 each?
http://www.terryandersonforohiosenate.com/