I haven't verified these numbers, but my source says that the come from the Hamilton County Board of Elections...
2006 Hamilton County Commission:
Heimlich = 48,093
Pepper = 48,665
2006 OH-02 - Hamilton County:
Schmidt = 44,447
Wulsin = 50,210
Comments/Analysis: I still am not convinced that this means anything significant. First of all, you are talking about two very different races. Second of all, Hamilton County, contrary to what some may think, is NOT the crown jewel of the district. And thirdly, while Team Schmidt has been working very hard to campaign all over the district, the same can not be said for Team Heimlich.
Having said all that, I also don't think that Heimlich's loss to Pepper is all that damaging either. He lost by about 600 votes in a climate that was quite nasty. While Team Heimlich was its own worst enemy committing unforced errors at virtually every turn, the demographics in Hamilton County are such that losing by 600 is not a career-ending offense. We won't even talk about the embarrassment that was Chris Finney...
At any rate, there are the numbers. Make of them what you will...
IMPORTANT UPDATE: My source just dropped me a note saying that the numbers above for the Heimlich/Pepper Hamilton County Commissioner race were from the portions of Hamilton County that is represented by the Second Congressional District and NOT the entire county.
The full countywide numbers for that race were as follows:
Pepper: 151,999
Heimlich: 134,595
That's a LOT more than 600 votes...
