Post Election Wrap Up
First off, my post yesterday about the new voting system in Summit County drove the most traffic to PBK since I installed the Site Meter. So, if you found me yesterday and are returning, welcome! Thanks to Writes Like She Talks, Psychobilly Democrat and Ohio 2nd Blog for the links. If I'm leaving someone out, let me know.
Democrats
Ted Strickland-No surprises here. There's a lot to like about Ted Strickland. His Turnaround Ohio proposals are the type of forward-thinking leadership that has been lacking in this state from either political party. He seems like a very likeable guy who will play well across a broad range of demographics. Even my dad, who was from the same part of the state as Strickland, voiced his support for Ted last fall before he passed away. Strickland must be saying something right, because I don't think my dad ever voted for a Democrat in his life.
I still have some issues with Strickland. I doubt I can ever forgive him over breaking ranks with the party on the bankruptcy bill. His vote on the immigration bill and his backpedaling afterwards doesn't sit well with me either. However, his primary opponent was far worse, and now with Ken Blackwell running for the GOP its time to suck it up and put differences aside. Strickland starts out with a big lead in the head to head matchup, but he's going to have to run a stellar campaign to keep that up. Here's hoping that some of the heavy handed tactics he used in selecting the ODP chair don't come back to haunt him in November, because if Ken Blackwell is governor, I will move out of the state.
Betty Sutton (OH-13)-Sutton's win over Cafaro and Sawyer in the 13th district primary proves once again that a good ground game is still the most important factor in winning elections. Pho has a nice take on this from the vantage point of Sutton's victory party last night. I'm not too thrilled with the whole MTB photo controversy, but as Word of Mouth (the victim of this copyright abuse) points out, the blame lies with Compass Media, not Sutton. As for some of Sutton's other tactics that have drawn the ire of bloggers as of late, I'm not so concerned. She did what she needed to do to win and none of the attacks were false. Of the field, she really is the strongest candidate for November. In a year that favors Democrats, I think Sutton will pull 3-5 points ahead of Kerry's 56% in this district.
Subodh Chandra-What happened here? I know I should have expected this, as the Columbus Dispatch poll last week pretty much hit this nail on the head. I knew Dann would probably win, but I thought Chandra would be far more competitive than just 27%. He didn't get the ODP endorsement, but he did receive several newspaper endorsements and those of several county parties as well. Was it the name? Its not often in Ohio that we get to vote for a candidate like Chandra and I really hope that this poor showing doesn't discourage him from continuing to be active in Ohio politics, we need more people like him. Desperately. Marc Dann is a solid candidate and his work on the Noe scandal is to be commended, I'll have no problem voting for him in November. However, it will be with some regret at not being able to vote for what could have been Ohio's own Elliot Spitzer or Lisa Madigan.
William O'Neill-Democrats seriously need to start doing more homework on these races. Am I the only one who heard about this? Leaving aside whether you think you ought to be supporting a so-called Democrat that wants to teach Intelligent Design and display the Ten Commandments in public courthouses. Why would you support a candidate for the state Supreme Court who fills out surveys about what his views are on a host of issues? Oh yeah, that's judicial integrity (rolls eyes). I guess I'll find out in November what happens when you undervote on the ES&S optical scan system, because there's no way I'm voting for this guy and I'd sooner gouge my eyeballs out than fill in the oval for a Republican.
Others-In the Summit County Council race, I guess Ilene Shapiro just bought herself 6 more months to try and figure out what TEL is. Charlie Wilson won his improbable write in campaign in OH-6. Looking at his vote totals, I think he has a solid shot at keeping this district in our hands, but it will be a nail-biter.
Republicans
I don't have too many comments here. But one thing is for certain, the Ohio GOP is now officially the party of howl at the moon extreme right wing lunatics. How else can you explain how Sandra O'Brien won her primary for State Treasurer based on an anti-choice, anti-gay agenda against a more well qualified, moderate, incumbent (though unelected) opponent? State Treasurer?!?! What do god, guns and gays have to do with the treasurer's office? Hopefully this is a boon for Rich Cordray. As for the other races, I don't even want to discuss J-Ken anymore. OH-16 was a bit of a nail biter last night, though I don't know enough about either Dem to determine whether they will mount a credible challenge. Certainly can't do much worse than Jeff Seemann.
-----------------------------------------
On an unrelated note, I will be in Chicago Friday-Monday. I hope to get off a music post before then, but if not PBK will be pretty quiet over the weekend.
Democrats
Ted Strickland-No surprises here. There's a lot to like about Ted Strickland. His Turnaround Ohio proposals are the type of forward-thinking leadership that has been lacking in this state from either political party. He seems like a very likeable guy who will play well across a broad range of demographics. Even my dad, who was from the same part of the state as Strickland, voiced his support for Ted last fall before he passed away. Strickland must be saying something right, because I don't think my dad ever voted for a Democrat in his life.
I still have some issues with Strickland. I doubt I can ever forgive him over breaking ranks with the party on the bankruptcy bill. His vote on the immigration bill and his backpedaling afterwards doesn't sit well with me either. However, his primary opponent was far worse, and now with Ken Blackwell running for the GOP its time to suck it up and put differences aside. Strickland starts out with a big lead in the head to head matchup, but he's going to have to run a stellar campaign to keep that up. Here's hoping that some of the heavy handed tactics he used in selecting the ODP chair don't come back to haunt him in November, because if Ken Blackwell is governor, I will move out of the state.
Betty Sutton (OH-13)-Sutton's win over Cafaro and Sawyer in the 13th district primary proves once again that a good ground game is still the most important factor in winning elections. Pho has a nice take on this from the vantage point of Sutton's victory party last night. I'm not too thrilled with the whole MTB photo controversy, but as Word of Mouth (the victim of this copyright abuse) points out, the blame lies with Compass Media, not Sutton. As for some of Sutton's other tactics that have drawn the ire of bloggers as of late, I'm not so concerned. She did what she needed to do to win and none of the attacks were false. Of the field, she really is the strongest candidate for November. In a year that favors Democrats, I think Sutton will pull 3-5 points ahead of Kerry's 56% in this district.
Subodh Chandra-What happened here? I know I should have expected this, as the Columbus Dispatch poll last week pretty much hit this nail on the head. I knew Dann would probably win, but I thought Chandra would be far more competitive than just 27%. He didn't get the ODP endorsement, but he did receive several newspaper endorsements and those of several county parties as well. Was it the name? Its not often in Ohio that we get to vote for a candidate like Chandra and I really hope that this poor showing doesn't discourage him from continuing to be active in Ohio politics, we need more people like him. Desperately. Marc Dann is a solid candidate and his work on the Noe scandal is to be commended, I'll have no problem voting for him in November. However, it will be with some regret at not being able to vote for what could have been Ohio's own Elliot Spitzer or Lisa Madigan.
William O'Neill-Democrats seriously need to start doing more homework on these races. Am I the only one who heard about this? Leaving aside whether you think you ought to be supporting a so-called Democrat that wants to teach Intelligent Design and display the Ten Commandments in public courthouses. Why would you support a candidate for the state Supreme Court who fills out surveys about what his views are on a host of issues? Oh yeah, that's judicial integrity (rolls eyes). I guess I'll find out in November what happens when you undervote on the ES&S optical scan system, because there's no way I'm voting for this guy and I'd sooner gouge my eyeballs out than fill in the oval for a Republican.
Others-In the Summit County Council race, I guess Ilene Shapiro just bought herself 6 more months to try and figure out what TEL is. Charlie Wilson won his improbable write in campaign in OH-6. Looking at his vote totals, I think he has a solid shot at keeping this district in our hands, but it will be a nail-biter.
Republicans
I don't have too many comments here. But one thing is for certain, the Ohio GOP is now officially the party of howl at the moon extreme right wing lunatics. How else can you explain how Sandra O'Brien won her primary for State Treasurer based on an anti-choice, anti-gay agenda against a more well qualified, moderate, incumbent (though unelected) opponent? State Treasurer?!?! What do god, guns and gays have to do with the treasurer's office? Hopefully this is a boon for Rich Cordray. As for the other races, I don't even want to discuss J-Ken anymore. OH-16 was a bit of a nail biter last night, though I don't know enough about either Dem to determine whether they will mount a credible challenge. Certainly can't do much worse than Jeff Seemann.
-----------------------------------------
On an unrelated note, I will be in Chicago Friday-Monday. I hope to get off a music post before then, but if not PBK will be pretty quiet over the weekend.
posted by 54cermak @ 9:23 AM
1 Comments:
At 12:21 AM,
Monkeesfan said…
What is certain is that those "howl at the moon right wing lunatics" are in fact rational thinkers. Sandra O'Brien is
"anti-choice" and "anti-gay." Well, being "anti-choice" is just a euphemism for opposing a euphemism - i.e. she calls abortion as it is. Being anti-gay likewise is attacking a euphemism - i.e. she calls a "lifestyle" that violates basic biology as it is. What is "howl at the moon lunacy" about that?
Post a Comment
<< Home