I keep hearing about how "connected" David Smith is...check out this piece from the Cleveland Plain Dealer blog (again...where is the Enquirer?):Fulton County Republican Chair Sandy Barber says aides to Sen. Mike DeWine are busily trying to round up central committee members and their votes before Tuesday night's endorsement meeting. It suggests the GOP senator is worried that another rural county might defect to his more conservative opponent, Bill Pierce, a political unknown in his first statewide race.If Smith is such the hot commodity, how come NOBODY is talking about him?
Pierce has won two counties, tied one, and lost a fourth where he tangled with the sitting senator. But if DeWine can crush him now, the Pierce boomlet would probably be over.
Barber said in an interview Thursday that the DeWine-Pierce maneuvering has been brisk and that she is unwilling to pick a favorite. She added that DeWine cannot take the Northwest Ohio county for granted.
"There is a bit of a restless base, it's no secret," she said. "In the rural counties, they watch how their elected officials vote. And President Bush is very highly thought of in a rural area like this. When you go against the President, you are going to have problems," she said, adding that some Republicans in her area think that DeWine hasn't been solidly allied with the White House.
But if DeWine can crush him now, the Pierce boomlet would probably be over.That is a mighty big "if" there...
"I can't tell you how it's going to go, I really can't", Barber said. "But it is going to be a very interesting race, very interesting."It doesn't sound likely that DeWine will "crush" anybody in this contest.
DISCLOSURE: I am blog administrator for Pierce for Senate.
