Gubernatorial Race
- Angus-Reid Public Opinion puts out a poll showing Kasich a hair-raising 2 points ahead of Ted Strickland, just as I have a piece on the home page explaining why Kasich, formerly at commanding heights against the incumbent Governor, is now having trouble holding his own. At the same time, Kasich’s support grows with newspaper editorial boards, with Crain’s Cleveland Business siding with him. And Ted Strickland is campaigning with President Obama and Glee star Matthew Morrison. Because President Obama and a Hollywood actor are totally going to win over the average Ohio voter. Hey, don’t stop believing, Strickland.
Senatorial Race
- David Broder is impressed by Rob Portman. Not so with Ohio’s gay community, who appear to be backing the increasingly radical-sounding Lee Fisher. The Dayton Daily News cheerleads for Fisher anyway, likening his Senate bid to his courtship of his wife, of all things. Lee, they’re just not that into you. At the same time, the same paper also gives some positive coverage to Rob Portman.
House Races
- The NRCC has released two new ads in Ohio, in OH-6 and OH-18. They are below:
- Rich Iott, Republican challenger of OH-9, is in severe trouble. That Nazi costume? It might cost him his base. It’s already lost him Eric Cantor and the “Young Guns” endorsement. Defending his behavior probably wasn’t a good idea, as now the Nation is waving bloody shirts everywhere. And the news coverage is only getting worse…
- Meanwhile, the race in OH-13 between incumbent Democrat Betty Sutton and Republican challenger Tom Ganley is getting perilously close to rock-bottom. Ganley has declined to debate Sutton — understandable, given her campaign’s history of exceedingly sleazy, mudslinging tactics. In spite of this, though, the Cleveland Plain Dealer endorses Sutton, citing Ganley’s lack of budgetary specifics. And Sutton has more help coming, from the Humane Society of all places. But Ganley’s got some endorsements of his own, as well as air support from ATR.
- The race in OH-15 is getting more and more lopsided, with Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy now having to fight to convince her party she’s worth backing.
- And the race in OH-16 continues to narrow, to the point that third-party candidates could have an effect. Fortunately for Republican challenger Jim Renacci, John Boccieri has a tin ear about his record.
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