This just in...
XENIA, OH 1/11/08 - The Greene County Republican Party Central Committee voted last night to endorse Chris Widener, conservative Republican candidate for the Ohio State Senate.
"Representative Widener has worked hard to earn the trust of Greene County republicans, we are solidly behind his campaign and his election to be our next State Senator," said Brenda Lewis, Central Committee Chairwoman. "He has a great deal of support throughout our county."
This endorsement from Greene County, Widener's opponent's home county, demonstrates the groundswell of support behind Widener's campaign.
Committee members pointed to Widener's leadership in the House of Representatives on issues such as cutting income taxes and providing prescription drug coverage for 1.4 million Ohio seniors without any additional costs to the taxpayers, and passing a state budget with the lowest growth in spending in nearly half a century.
"The Miami Valley area is an important and growing part of the state, and I'm humbled and honored to have the support of Greene County," Widener said. "I'll continue to work hard in the Senate to honor the trust the public has placed in me and to advance the conservative values and ideals they've come to expect."
Widener currently serves Madison and portions of Clark and Greene counties in his fourth term as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives. He is chairman of the Financial Institutions, Real Estate, and Securities Committee.
He is a licensed architect and has owned his own firm for 18 years. Prior to starting his own business he worked at Wight Patterson Air Force Base as a civil service architect and as the installations firstfull-time Historic Preservation Officer
UPDATE: In the comments, VikingSpirit asks:
Who's Widener running against?
Ask, and ye shall receive! Three Republicans have filed to run for Austria's 10th District seat. They include state Rep. Chris Widener, who is vacating his 84th District seat, 18-year-old Wittenberg University student James Howard and Greene County Commissioner W. Reed Madden.
Clark County Commissioner Roger Tackett is the only Democrat who filed to seek the seat for his party.
