Gubernatorial Race

In its first gubernatorial endorsement in over a century, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce endorses John Kasich against Ted Strickland. Wonder which candidate is more pro-business…

The Dems are scared out of their wits, of course. So much so that even Politico is picking up on the rural party’s severe structural weaknesses in the Midwest.

And Aaron Pickrell of the Strickland campaign displays just why his campaign can’t compete with John Kasich — not only does Strickland not care what happens with the Bush tax cuts, he doesn’t even pay attention to the national narrative:

Some Democratic strategists may be worried that by abandoning the debate over the Bush tax cuts on Capitol Hill, party leaders have lost an opportunity to battle Republicans out on the campaign trail over an issue that strikes at the economic concerns at the center of this election. Those Democrats would not be the ones advising Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland in his bid to win a second term.
“It doesn’t make that much difference one way or the other,” Strickland campaign manager Aaron Pickrell told me on a conference call with reporters today. I asked Pickrell if the debate over tax cuts in Washington was helping or hurting his troubled campaign. Pickrell said that in a governor’s race — even one that appears to hinge on the national issues of jobs and the economy — the hemming and hawing over tax cuts doesn’t really connect with Ohio voters.
“The national narrative really doesn’t filter into it,” Pickrell said.

Senatorial Race

Democrats have severe envy of Rob Portman’s campaign. They’re now trying to get him to disclose his donors so they can take the list out of context.

Not to mention, the Lee Fisher campaign complains that this is “an election, not an auction” in the title of the following press release. Ironically, the message of said press release is “this race isn’t about money, which is why you should give it to us now!”:

What do Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, and Mitch McConnell have in common?
They all think they can buy Congressman Portman a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Congressman Portman made a lot of friends in Washington during his time in Congress and he made a lot of friends on Wall Street when he fought for them as Bush’s Trade Czar and budget chief. Now all those friends are banding together to pour money into his campaign coffers and running television ads on his behalf in an attempt to send him back to D.C.
But this is an election, not an auction, and victory isn’t just handed to the highest bidder.
We have a critical fundraising deadline on September 30. Will you contribute $10, $5, or whatever you can to our Main Street First Fund today to make sure our next U.S. Senator is someone who will fight for Ohio families instead of special interests?

House Races

SarahPAC backs two familiar faces in Ohio: Bill Johnson in OH-6 and Jim Renacci in OH-16.

And an ad that Battle ‘10 got ahold of days ago finally goes live on the Kilroy campaign’s dime.