Ken Blackwell certainly seems to be the most promising GOP gubernatorial candidate, and was perhaps the most high profile Republican opponent of Taft’s “temporary” sales tax hike (and has sought to see it repealed). He has worked hard to develop his ties to the religious right, but has also alientated some libertarian-leaning Republicans. I don’t know how he would do at attracting independents and crossover Democrats — and some Republicans think Blackwell would have trouble in the general election (see, e.g., here). Yet many of these same folks also thought Blackwell had no chance at the GOP nomination — and now it looks like it is his to lose (a sign, in my view, of the grassroots discontent with Taft and business-as-usual). I’m also inclined to think a Blackwell loss would be preferable to another RINO governor whose policies facilitate Ohio’s continued economic decline. The Ohio GOP has little future if voters associate it with high-tax, anti-growth policies that favor subsidies for economic dinosaurs over market-driven entrepreneurship and innovation.