Ohio Dems Reluctant to Challenge Ney
While Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean and other national Democrats are talking about beating Bob Ney this fall but it seems that local Democrats don’t seem to be responding to the challenge.
Three men with more experience in countywide elected office and greater name recognition than the four Democrats who are running turned down offers by the party’s national House campaign organization last year to challenge GOP Rep. Bob Ney.
Ney is a top target for Democrats in the 2006 elections because of his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. When Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud charges in January, he told federal prosecutors Ney took thousands of dollars in gifts, travel and campaign donations from him and associates in exchange for official acts.“From (Ohio Gov.) Bob Taft to Bob Ney, Ohio is ground zero for voters who want real change from the status quo and the ethical scandals in government,” said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, (D-IL), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Taft, who has rock bottom approval ratings, pleaded no contest to ethics charges last year and was the first Ohio governor charged with a crime.
I suspect that Ohio will be a major disappointment for Democrats this fall. It doesn’t appear as though Ney will get seriously challenged. Also, Democrats won’t be running against Gov. Taft. They’ll be running against Ken Blackwell, the current Ohio Secretary of State, who is a true social and fiscal conservative. He’s also a man of considerable charisma, something that Taft isn’t.
All the talk about Ohio being Ground Zero for Democrats is melodramatic, to say the least. As much as national Democrats are hyping this, they can’t hope that they’ll be able to cast this crop of Republican candidates as corrupt.
If they attempt to smear Mr. Blackwell, look for him to do exceptionally well with the black vote. After all, it was just 2 short years ago that President Bush got 16% of the black vote. You can expect Blackwell to do at least 10 points better, with 15 points better being possible. If a Democrat only gets 65-75% of the black vote, they’re toast.
Cross-post at LetFreedomRing