Ohio Thursday Morning Roundup

Gubernatorial Race

• The SEIU trots out a vicious ad against John Kasich arguing that he made his money by stealing from little old ladies:

• And the ad’s going to get six figures spent on it, according to Politico’s Ben Smith.

• Kasich, meanwhile, starts to lose patience with Strickland’s attack-of-the-week style:

John Kasich, Republican candidate for governor, said incumbent Ted Strickland has “failed” the state.

 

“He’s presided over a decline,” Kasich told The Vindicator editorial board Wednesday. Strickland and his supporters “have spent all their time attacking me for a year. … I think [Strickland’s] had his chance. His results are bad — loss of jobs, growing poverty, unemployment, homelessness, not competitive. The proof’s in the pudding. He’s not been on top of things. He’s failed.”

• But Ted Strickland’s supporters want Kasich to know they won’t stop fighting! That’s right, all twelve of them:

Less than eight weeks before elections in November, campaigning took center stage in Columbiana County Wednesday.

 

With Gov. Ted Strickland’s opponent John Kasich holding a rally in Hanoverton, a group of about a dozen Strickland supporters rallied in the afternoon at the Democrat headquarters in Lisbon.

 

U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson and state Rep. Linda Bolon spoke about some of the things Strickland has done in our part of Ohio and the close ties he has here from his years as a congressman.

• The Zanesville Times-Recorder has a profile of the funding sources for Rob Portman and Lee Fisher:

Most of Portman’s money, nearly 80 percent, comes from individuals. He got 17 percent from political action committees, with a big emphasis on the business sector.

But of the people and groups who gave more than $200 to Portman’s campaign, just over half – 55 percent — are from Ohio, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.[…]

Fisher got more money from individuals — 90 percent — and less from PACs, which is one reason why he has less money in the bank. Individuals can give up to $2,400 per election cycle, while PACs can donate up to $5,000.

However, 77 percent of Fisher’s donations were from Ohio, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

• Cincinnati.com’s Adwatch blog, meanwhile, is not happy with Fisher’s newest attack ad:

Some points are accurate. As a Republican congressman from Cincinnati, Portman in 2000 supported former President Bill Clinton’s call for permanent normal trade relations with China. Portman was close to Bush, serving one year as trade representative and one year as budget director. As trade representative, Portman helped win congressional approval in 2005 of a free-trade agreement with six Central American nations. Portman talks little about being a senior adviser to Bush.

But the commercial relies on a selective and misleading use of statistics. The commercial says the federal deficit doubled while Portman was budget director, but he served in the post from May 2006 through June 2007, as the annual deficit fell from $248 billion to $163billion. Portman drafted the fiscal 2008 budget, which covered federal spending from Oct. 1, 2007, through Sept. 30, 2008.

When the budget was released in February 2007, the Boston Globe reported that it included “deep cuts to federal health care, education and transportation programs.” The budget was designed to lead to a balanced budget by 2012, but the 2008 recession dramatically slowed tax receipts and the final deficit for the 2008 federal spending year was $458 billion.

House Races

• The Cleveland Plain Dealer showcases another race where Democrats are running from their leader:

Copley Township Democratic Rep. Betty Sutton didn’t attend Obama’s speech. The campaign of the Republican candidate for Sutton’s job, Brecksville auto dealer Tom Ganley, marked the occasion by issuing a statement that claimed Sutton’s absence shows “that she’s worried about keeping her seat in Congress.”

“Throughout his presidency, she has been in lockstep with the massive spending measures that have further troubled Ohio’s economy and has now decided to avoid him at all costs,” said Ganley spokesperson Meghan Snyder.

Sutton campaign spokesperson Gwen Rocco issued a brass-knuckled reply that failed to address Ganley’s claim that her boss was ducking Obama. Instead, it reiterated claims the campaign has recently made about Ganley ducking debates, and alluded to lawsuits The Plain Dealer reported on last April.