Gubernatorial Race

  • Ted Strickland continues to try on new lines, now claiming that a vote for John Kasich is a vote for (wait for it) tax increases. Governor Strickland, a word to the wise: you’re a Democrat. Belief in the tooth fairy is more prevalent than belief that Strickland’s agenda is tax relief…
  • But wait! Evidently John Kasich’s alleged tax increases would fund (horror of horrors) education. Because when you’re the self-titled “education governor,” attacking your opponent for wanting to spend more on education totally makes sense.
  • The Dems now try to get John Kasich’s non-profit organizations audited by the IRS. So we have the Kasich Catch-22: If he makes profit, he’s Gordon Gekko, and if he works at a non-profit, he’s twisting charity for politics.

Senatorial Race

  • Chris Redfern is unapologetic for using the F-word in reference to Tea Partiers. And that’s not all — while Governor Strickland has distanced himself from Redfern, Lee Fisher has yet to apologize or denounce the wording.
  • And American Crossroads has a new political ad showing yet more reasons why Lee Fisher has poor judgment:
  • Ben Smith finds it amusing that the American Crossroads ad resembles a former Democratic campaign ad.
  • More questions about the “enthusiasm gap” by CQ Politics:
Democrats are worried that the enthusiasm gap among voters in the two states could be exacerbated if it appears by Election Day that Republicans are headed for blowout victories in the marquee races.
“There’s no question it’s a problem. When the top of the ticket is hurting, it absolutely makes it more difficult for a Democrat in a swing district to win,” said a Democratic strategist who has worked in both states. “Voters will be looking at the gubernatorial race and going, ‘If [Ohio Gov. Ted] Strickland is down 10 points, why the heck am I going to go out and vote?’”

House Races

  • And Rep. Steve Driehaus attacks Republican Steve Chabot for apparently acting like a jerk to one veteran.
  • Meanwhile, familiar names Steve Stivers of OH-15 and Bill Johnson of OH-6 pick up endorsements from Freedomworks PAC.
  • And Swing State Project is getting defeatist about OH-15:
10. Ohio’s 15th (Columbus)–Mary Jo Kilroy has been in trouble since the day she took office after a squeaker of a victory, and Steve Stivers has been running for almost 4 years now. In a neutral year, Stivers would probably be a slight underdog, but the environment and upticket races make him the favorite. Look for the Ohio GOP to pull its hair out over trying to protect him in redistricting. (PR: 14)