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4TH
SENATE DISTRICT BATTLE TAKES SHAPE
We mentioned in the last issue of The Political Edge that several House
members would use the summer weeks to decide whether or not to run for
one of next year’s seven open Senate seat contests.
At least one of them has already made up his mind. Rep. Gary Cates (R-West
Chester) announced last week that he will be a candidate to succeed
Sen. Scott Nein (R-Middletown) in the 4th Senate district. The 4th district
contains all of Butler County and is heavily Republican. Both Cates
and Nein face term limits next year.
Cates has served in the House since being appointed in 1995 to succeed
Nein after Nein was appointed to a vacant Senate seat. Prior to that
he was a Union Township trustee. For the last two terms he has served
as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House, the second-highest ranking leadership
position behind the Speaker. In his four House elections, Cates never
garnered less than 67% of the votes cast, and was unopposed in 2002.
He has compiled a 96% pro-business voting record during his tenure in
the House and was the sponsor of a bill enacted in 2000 that was a top
priority for the Ohio Chamber. HB 122 clarified existing law regarding
the ability to obtain workers’ compensation benefits if an injured
employee tests positive for drugs or alcohol. The bill shifted the burden
of proving that drugs or alcohol did not cause the injury to the injured
employee if his or her blood alcohol or drug test exceeds specified
levels. Unfortunately, the Ohio Supreme Court struck down that law late
last year.
Cates won’t have the field to himself, however. In fact, he’s
not even the first candidate to announce for the seat.
In The Political Edge for June 5, we reported on the rejection of a
proposal that would have seen Butler County Commissioner Courtney Combs
(R-Hamilton) and Rep. Greg Jolivette (R-Hamilton) trade seats, with
Combs going to Columbus and Jolivette taking his spot on the county
commission. With an easy road to the House no longer an option, Combs
announced on the last day of June that he would instead run to succeed
Nein.
Combs owns Combs Group Realtors in Fairfield and has served as county
commissioner since 1986. He also was on Hamilton City Council for four
years. After barely winning his first commissioner re-election bid in
1990 by just 216 votes, he hasn’t had anything even resembling
a close contest in subsequent elections. Combs was re-elected to a fifth
term last year and will be able to run from cover for the Senate next
year.
The Cates vs. Combs race shapes up as an interesting and competitive
contest between two veteran officeholders, neither of whom has had to
wage a spirited campaign in recent years.
Cates should have little difficulty raising money given his influential
House leadership position and his contacts in the affluent West Chester
area that he represents in the House. But he has never before run countywide.
Combs, on the other hand, has five successful countywide campaigns under
his belt, but certainly hasn’t had to raise and spend the kind
of money he’ll need against Cates. A key prize in this race is
the Butler County Republican Central Committee endorsement, which both
candidates cited their initial campaign efforts would concentrate on
securing.
Provided Nein doesn’t leave the Senate early – which he says
he has no plans to do – next year will mark the first time in 36
years that Butler County voters will get the first opportunity to choose
their senator. The last three to hold the office were all originally
appointed by the Senate GOP caucus to fill vacancies.
Nein was appointed in 1995 to fill the vacancy created when Barry Levey
retired mid-term. Levey was appointed to fill the vacancy created after
Donald “Buz” Lukens was elected to Congress in 1986. And Lukens
was appointed to succeed Walter Powell, who was elected to the U.S.
House in 1970 in the middle of his term. Powell was the last senator
from the 4th district first elected by the voters, back in 1968.
DAVIDSON TO HEAD BUSH RE-ELECTION EFFORT
IN OHIO
Former Ohio House Speaker JoAnn Davidson will serve as the Ohio Valley
regional chairperson for President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election
campaign. Her job will be to “help build support for the President’s
re-election campaign” in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia.
Also, the campaign announced that Dave DenHerder will serve as political
director for the central region, which includes Ohio. He is an Iowan
who was the Iowa state field director for the 2000 Bush campaign and
has subsequently worked for U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE KUCINICH LEADS RIVALS
That’s right, Ohioan Congressman and Democratic presidential candidate
Dennis Kucinich leads his eight rivals for his party’s nomination
in at least one category: celebrity endorsements.
His website lists endorsements from actors Ed Asner and Elliott Gould,
country singer Willie Nelson, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream founder
Ben Cohen, author Studs Terkel, and 2000 Green Party presidential nominee
Ralph Nader. It comes as no shock that Kucinich’s extremely liberal
ideology appeals to these celebrities.
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