August 14 , 2003 ANOTHER RACE IS ON IN SOUTHERN OHIO For months now, it has been assumed that a sitting member of the Ohio House would run to succeed term-limited Senate President Doug White (R-Manchester) in the 14th Senate district. Turns out that this is true ­ but there will be two sitting members running, not just one. Last month, both Rep. Tom Niehaus (R-New Richmond), a second-term legislator with a 90% cumulative pro-business voting record, and Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland), a second-termer with a 97% voting record, announced they would run for the Senate instead of for re-election. While Rep. Schmidt’s candidacy has been assumed for months, Rep. Niehaus apparently made his decision just recently, and only after confirming that former Rep. Rose Vesper (R-New Richmond) did not intend to run. Niehaus succeeded Vesper in the House in 2000 and the two are close personal friends. The last time two sitting members of the House squared off in a Senate primary was in 2000, when then-Reps. Jim Buchy (R-Greenville) and Jim Jordan (R-Urbana) met in what turned out to be a combative and costly battle in which Jordan prevailed with 60% of the vote. While some are saying the Niehaus-Schmidt battle will resemble Buchy-Jordan, P.a.C.E. believes the only real similarities are that the race will be expensive, vigorous, and closely-followed in Columbus. The 14th district includes Adams, Brown, Clermont, and Scioto Counties and the western half of Lawrence County. It is a solidly Republican district that is dominated by Clermont County, the home of both candidates. Clermont County residents make up about half of the district’s population and a somewhat higher percentage of its GOP voters. A big battleground will be Scioto County, the least Republican county in the district but the second largest one. Scioto County accounts for just over 22% of the district’s population and neither Niehaus nor Schmidt currently represent the area. Two key factors in this race likely work in Niehaus’ favor. First, he has the personal endorsement of Sen. White, the popular incumbent from Adams County, and Vesper. Second is the “no” vote Niehaus recently cast on the biennial budget. Schmidt voted “yes,” and this vote, which Niehaus will no doubt characterize as a vote to raise taxes, could be a liability in a GOP primary. One of Schmidt’s biggest strengths is that she has been a prolific fundraiser during her time in the House, and she will need to continue to be so in order to beat Niehaus. This primary will be the biggest political fight either has ever faced, though Niehaus did have to wage a very competitive primary against two other candidates to win the GOP nomination for the House in 2000. And this race, like the GOP primary in the 4th Senate district between Rep. Gary Cates and Butler County Commissioner Courtney Combs that we reviewed in the last issue of The Political Edge, will help make next year’s March primaries quite interesting for political spectators. 50 LARGEST CORPORATE PACS IN 2002 P.a.C.E. recently completed a comprehensive review of corporate PAC giving during 2002. The 50 largest contributors are listed below. These 50 largest PACs combined to give over $2.1 million last year, and the average amount contributed was just over $42,000. The top ten PACs gave almost as much money as the other 40 PACs combined, and only two, the Nationwide and FirstEnergy PACs, gave in excess of $100,000. The spending totals reflect contributions reported on 2002 pre-primary, post-primary, pre-general, and post-general election campaign finance reports (or corresponding federal campaign finance reports) and include only contributions made to candidates for statewide office, Courts of Appeals, and the General Assembly or to legislative caucus funds and state political party organizations. 1 Nationwide $156,558.72 2 FirstEnergy $150,500.00 3 BankOne Corp. $99,425.00 4 American Electric Power $83,875.00 5 Anthem Insurance Companies Inc. $83,675.00 6 Timken Co. $80,100.00 7 AT&T $73,900.00 8 KeyCorp $73,550.00 9 SBC Ameritech $66,875.00 10 National City Corp. $57,600.00 11 Columbia Gas of Ohio, Inc. $57,375.00 12 AK Steel Corp. $56,250.00 13 Huntington Bancshares Inc. $51,175.00 14 Cinergy Corp. $49,250.00 15 Procter & Gamble Co. $47,800.00 16 American Coal Co. $42,725.00 17 BP Amoco Corp. $42,600.00 18 Grange $42,285.00 19 UPS $38,200.00 20 Dominion $36,200.00 21 Humana Inc. $34,800.00 22 Ashland $33,400.00 23 American Energy Corp. $32,250.00 24 Eaton Corp. $31,500.00 25 Phillip Morris $31,275.00 26 Fifth Third Bancorp. $30,600.00 27 Scotts Co. $30,450.00 28 Ohio Valley Coal Co. $30,175.00 29 Westfield $29,672.50 30 Mead Westvaco $28,990.00 31 Pfizer $28,675.00 32 Household International Inc. $28,600.00 33 Sprint/United Telephone Co. $27,105.00 34 Citigroup Inc. $24,350.00 35 Huntington National Bank $24,250.00 36 Ohio Casualty Group $23,856.47 37 Cardinal Health, Inc. $22,500.00 38 Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. $18,750.00 39 Cincinnati Bell Inc. $18,450.00 40 General Electric Co. $18,300.00 41 Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. $17,950.00 42 Convergys Corp. $17,350.00 43 International Paper $17,350.00 44 Motorists Mutual Insurance Co. $17,146.64 45 Union Central Life Insurance $17,125.00 46 Microsoft Corp. $17,000.00 47 Meijer $16,150.00 48 TRW Inc. $16,000.00 49 HCR Manor Care $15,500.00 50 SmithKline Beecham Corp. $14,950.00 SO YOU THINK BALANCING THE BUDGET IS EASY… As you know, Ohio recently completed its biennial budget process, with the legislature passing a two-year, $48.8 billion budget that Gov. Bob Taft signed in June. This compromise package increased state spending by over ten percent and paid for most of the additional spending through tax increases. The package included $284 million in additional business taxes as well as a one percent hike in the sales tax that will cost Ohio businesses an additional $720 million. Think there was a better way? Here’s your chance to see for yourself. The Associated Press has created an interactive, web-based simulation that gives you a chance to balance a state budget in the midst of an economic downturn. In it, you play the role of a governor in a state with a significant budget deficit. (Sound familiar?) You must develop a balanced state budget that is able to win support in both the House and the Senate in just ten weeks. With each budget adjustment, you are shown how many votes are won or lost in the legislature. Give the game a try at: http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/files/specials/interactives/ states_flash/index.html?SITE=PAREA&SECTION=HOME OCCPAC SETS FUNDRAISING RECORD With four months remaining before the end of the year, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee has already established a new, single-year fundraising record. The 2003 total amount raised currently sits at just over $27,000, eclipsing the previous high of $26,750 set in 1994. OCCPaC is reaching these new heights in preparation for being fully engaged in the 2004 elections. There will be four Ohio Supreme Court elections next year, meaning Ohioans will elect a majority of the Court in one election for the first time in our state’s history. OCCPaC is well on the way to being ready to lend support to all of the candidates on the ballot that understand the proper role of the court. Our thanks to those of you who have contributed to OCCPaC in 2003 and helped our PAC achieve its record success. If you haven’t yet made a contribution to OCCPaC this year and would like to do so, please contact Keith Lake on the Ohio Chamber staff at (614) 228-4201 or via e-mail at klake@ohiochamber.com. Under Ohio law, OCCPaC can accept individual, partnership, and PAC checks but cannot accept corporate checks.