Blackwell Wins GOP Nod for Ohio Governor

Ken Blackwell has won the GOP primary for Ohio governor. Though he trails Democrat Representative Ted Strickland right now in the polls, expect this race to tighten up by fall.
The Ohio primary, amid Republican woes and the state's role as the deciding state in the last presidential election, was a closely watched barometer of voter dissatisfaction and whether it could lead to political upheaval in November. With 94 percent of precincts reporting, Blackwell had 435,478 votes, or 56 percent, compared with 338,606, or 44 percent, for state Attorney General Jim Petro. Blackwell's prominence as a leading black voice in the GOP could be pivotal to Republicans. He is the first black candidate to run for governor in Ohio.
Ken Blackwell is the Democrats' worst nightmare- a true black conservative who's won statewide races before. The last I'd heard, Mr. Blackwell was pulling 40% of the black vote in Ohio. The polls show Strickland with a 10 point lead on Blackwell but I don't think that'll last long. Most of that lead is attributed to Gov. Taft's ethical challenges. That won't be the focus this fall, though. That campaign will be on the future and who's the best person to lead Ohio forward.

Ted Strickland isn't that person. He's too liberal and he wants to raise taxes. A tax increase, along with his ethics problems, is what caused Gov. Taft's JA ratings to plummet.

Mike DeWine and Sherrod Brown won their primaries and will face each other this November. DeWine currently leads Brown 47-36 in the most recent Mason-Dixon poll. Brown faces an uphill challenge in that race.

Cross-posted at California Conservative

Posted Wednesday, May 3, 2006 12:12 PM

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