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ON
WITH THE SHOW!
By 4:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon, every candidate seeking to run for
office in Ohio in 2006 as either a Democrat or a Republican needed to
file petitions with a county board of election – and file they
did. The first official step in what promises to be an eventful election
year in the Buckeye State was taken by almost 500 individuals intent
on winning a federal or state level elected office in November.
Attached are four documents listing the names and filing addresses of
all the candidates that filed petitions to run for Governor, Attorney
General, State Auditor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, U.S. Senate,
U.S. House, Ohio Senate, Ohio House, Ohio Supreme Court, and Ohio Courts
of Appeals.
County boards of elections are currently working to certify each of
these petitions, a responsibility that they are required to complete
by this coming Thursday, Feb. 23. We’ll report in a future issue
of The Political Edge which candidates, if any, are disqualified
and whether or not any choose to withdraw.
We’ll also preview all of the contested primaries in upcoming issues
of The Political Edge. For now, here is a quick recap of some of the
year’s noteworthy filings.
Statewide Candidates
With both parties featuring contested primaries for four out of five
constitutional offices, the May 2 primary will look nothing like Ohio
has witnessed in at least the past 20 years. A total of 20 candidates
filed to run and only one, Democrat Secretary of State candidate Jennifer
Brunner, is certain to face no primary opposition.
In our Feb. 9 issue of The Political
Edge, we ran a table showing the slate of candidates running for
one of these five offices. By Thursday’s deadline, there were only
three changes to the slate that appeared in our story.
Eric Fingerhut withdrew from the gubernatorial race earlier in the week
and thus didn’t file, while Franklin County Recorder Rob Montgomery
was a last minute addition to the field of Republican candidates for
Secretary of State.
Added to the mix for State Auditor was the name Chris McNulty, who currently
serves as executive director of the Ohio Republican Party. Petitions
were quickly circulated to put McNulty on the ballot after it was learned
late last week that the petitions filed by the other GOP candidate for
the office, Rep. Mary Taylor, may have been filed incorrectly. McNulty
was put on the ballot as a placeholder candidate, just in case Taylor
was later disqualified.
Taylor’s petitions, which were circulated primarily by paid campaign
staff, were thought to potentially be invalid because her campaign didn’t
file a new form necessary when petition circulators are hired to collect
signatures. However, a subsequent legal interpretation issued by Attorney
General Jim Petro’s office stated that the form in question is
only necessary when individuals or firms are hired specifically to circulate
petitions. It doesn’t appear to be necessary when paid campaign
staffers simply supervise or aid in the process of signature gathering.
This opinion seems to have put the matter to rest, though a challenge
to Taylor’s petitions by Democrats is still a possibility. In the
event that Taylor is certified for the ballot, it is likely that McNulty
will withdraw his candidacy.
Ohio General Assembly
What a difference two years makes. This year there are 52 contested
primaries in 47 different General Assembly districts, whereas two years
ago there were a grand total of 30 contested primaries in 26 districts.
As is the case in most years, the majority of this year’s primaries
occur in open seats, and significantly fewer incumbents face intra-party
opposition this year than in 2004. Just five incumbent House members,
along with appointed Sen. Eric Kearney (D-Cincinnati), face primary
opposition. Two years ago there were a total of 16 incumbents who were
forced to defend their seats in the primary.
Not surprisingly, the incumbents will have the clear advantage in these
campaigns. (In 2004, only two incumbents lost their primary races.)
Initially, it appears as if the two incumbents who will have to work
the hardest to ensure they win this May are Kearney, who is challenged
by Rep. Catherine Barrett (D-Cincinnati) in the 9th Senate district,
and 88th House district Rep. Danny Bubp (R-West Union). Paul Hall (R-Williamsburg),
an insurance agent and chairman of the Brown County Republican Party,
is Bubp’s opponent.
This cycle features a significant decline as compared with two years
ago in the number of candidates running unopposed. No senators and just
five representatives – Jim Carmichael (R-Wooster), Bill Coley (R-Middletown),
Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati), Joe Uecker (R-Loveland), and Mark Wagoner
(R-Toledo) – get a free pass all the way in 2006. However, the
winners of the Democratic primaries in the 8th, 9th, 11th, 13th, and
60th House districts and the Bubp-Hall winner in the 88th House district
just have to make it past May 2, as none will have general election
opposition.
U.S. Congress
The filing deadline’s most widely discussed story was the uncertainty
over whether or not State Sen. Charlie Wilson (D-St. Clairsville) submitted
enough signatures to be certified for the primary ballot in the open
6th congressional district. The much-anticipated matchup in this swing
district between Wilson and Ohio House Speaker Pro Tempore Chuck Blasdel
(R-E. Liverpool) – a matchup sure to attract tremendous national
attention and resources – may be in jeopardy of never materializing.
Only 50 valid signatures are necessary to run for Congress, and Wilson
submitted 96 on Monday. However, at least 43 of them were from outside
the 6th district, leaving just 53 potentially good signatures.
After learning of this development, Wilson attempted to withdraw his
original filing and submit 122 new, presumably valid, signatures. However,
state law prohibits the withdrawal of filed petitions as well as any
additions to petitions. Thus, Wilson’s candidacy apparently hangs
on the validity and sufficiency of the original 53 signatures. Speculation
on Friday was that the number of good signatures was somewhere between
47 and 51 – a small difference with huge implications.
The Columbiana County Board of Elections, where the petitions were filed,
meets Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. to certify all ballots. While two other
Democrats also filed to run, neither would likely present presumptive
GOP frontrunner Blasdel with a difficult general election.
Elsewhere, a total of 17 candidates – nine Democrats and eight
Republicans – are seeking to replace Cong. Sherrod Brown (D-Amherst)
in the open 13th district. Former Cong. Tom Sawyer, former State Rep.
Betty Sutton, Elyria Mayor Bill Grace, former Cleveland City Councilman
Gary Kucinich (brother of Cong. Dennis Kucinich), and shopping mall
heiress Capri Cafaro all appear to have a shot at securing the Democratic
nomination. Lorain Mayor Craig Foltin is the clear favorite in the GOP
field.
Brown, who is hoping to deny U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Cedarville) a
third term, will face just token opposition in the Democratic Senate
primary after Tuesday’s decision by Paul Hackett to drop out of
the race. Three Republicans are challenging DeWine in the GOP primary.
Seven candidates, including six Republicans, filed to run in the open
4th district, where longtime Cong. Mike Oxley (R-Findlay) is retiring.
In the 2nd district, Cong. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland), who was elected
just last August, has three primary opponents. The most serious opponent
is former Cong. Bob McEwen (R-Cincinnati), who placed second to Schmidt
in last year’s primary. Five Democrats also filed to run in the
2nd, even though the district is solid GOP territory – despite
Schmidt’s narrow victory over Hackett in August.
Besides Schmidt, three other incumbents drew primary challengers: embattled
Cong. Bob Ney (R-Heath), who also has four Democrat challengers, and
Cong. Kucinich and Ralph Regula (R-Navarre). Only Cong. Tim Ryan (D-Niles)
will get a free pass to another term, as he is running unopposed.
Ohio Supreme Court
The Feb. 9 issue of The Political Edge detailed the anticipated matchups
in the two Ohio Supreme Court races, and all six candidates mentioned
in our story filed as expected. Democrats have two candidates for each
seat while lone Republican candidates await the winners. Cuyahoga County
Common Pleas Judge Nancy Fuerst, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for
the high court in 2004, did not file.
Ohio Courts of Appeals
A total of 25 Courts of Appeals seats are on the ballot across the state
in 2006, more than one-third of the 68 judges that comprise Ohio’s
12 Courts of Appeals districts.
19 judges are running for re-election, including four appointed incumbents,
and there are six open-seat contests. Of those running for re-election,
13 are assured of winning another term because they have no opposition.
The only elected incumbent judges with general election opposition are
Judge Mary DeGenaro of the 7th district and Judge Diane Grendell of
the 11th district. Both are Republicans.
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