First District voters are poised to re-elect Rep. Steve Chabot to the U.S. House of Representatives for the eighth time in a row. The lead Republican on the House Small Business Committee, Rep. Chabot understands and aggressively advocates for the needs and values of Ohio ’s 1st Congressional District.
Chabot closed 2007 with over $1 million cash-on-hand, giving him more than a 2-1 advantage over his Democrat challenger. Career tax-raiser Steve Driehaus will have a difficult time explaining his lengthy liberal record to the OH-01 electorate that has continually elected Rep. Chabot since 1994.
In the last presidential election cycle (2004), Rep. Chabot won by a 20% margin (60% - 40%). According to National Journal’s 2008 Almanac of American Politics: “The most Republican major metro area in the nation over the longest time span has been Cincinnati .”
History. The 1st District was carried by President Bush in 2004 with 51% of the vote.
Geography. The 1st Congressional District contains most of Cincinnati and the western suburbs extending to the Indiana and Kentucky borders. It includes the majority of Butler and Hamilton Counties .
OH-02 (Schmidt)
In this solid Republican district, voters appear to be well on their way to re-electing Rep. Jean Schmidt to a second full term in November. Schmidt is a lifelong resident of Clermont County , and will be running for the very first time in a Presidential election cycle.
This Republican stronghold has voted Republican by better than a 3-2 margin in each of the past two presidential elections.
The non-partisan [my @$$ - MATT] Rothenberg Report, noted on January 30, 2008: “Even in the best Democratic year in the state in decades, Ted Strickland and Sherrod Brown still lost this district, even though they were racking up huge margins statewide.”
The 2006 loser, Victoria Wulsin, will not only lack the benefit of the national pro-Democrat environment she enjoyed last cycle, she will now have to face drastically increased voter turnout in an overwhelmingly Republican district during a presidential election year.
History. The 2nd District was carried by President Bush in 2004 with 64% of the vote.
Geography. The 2nd Congressional District contains the easternmost parts of Cincinnati and suburbs in Hamilton , Warren and Clermont Counties . The district stretches east from Cincinnati along the Kentucky border. Rep. Schmidt was preceded by Rep. Rob Portman.
Open Seats:
OH-07 (Hobson/Open)
State Sen. Steve Austria is well-positioned to keep the district in GOP hands. Even established Democrats in the district have admitted that their chances of winning are slim:
“One of the Democrats recruited to run for the seat of retiring Rep. David Hobson (R-Ohio) told the Politico that he wouldn’t be entering the race and added that he didn’t ‘see any way’ for Democrats to win the seat.”
“‘I hate to concede already, but it’s the truth,’ said Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly.” (Politico, 10/18/07)
History. The 7th District was carried by President Bush in 2004 with 57% of the vote.
Geography. The 7th District is located in south central Ohio and covers the eastern suburbs of Dayton including the cities of Xenia , Springfield and Lancaster . It includes portions of Springfield , Clark, Greene, Perry and Fairfield Counties . Dave Hobson has served as the Representative for the 7th District since he was first elected in 1990.
OH-15 (Pryce/Open)
Democrats have placed their bet on Mary Jo Kilroy, whose bruising campaign loss to former Rep. Deborah Pryce in 2006 is expected to be a liability in the fall.
State Sen. Steve Stivers, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Ohio National Guard, who was deployed to the Persian Gulf and served as a battalion commander in the US Army during the Iraq War in 2005, is potentially one of the best Republican candidates running for Congress in the country. He is a proven vote-getter who understands the needs and interests of Franklin County voters. After announcing his run for Congress at the end of the 4th quarter in 2007, Stivers quickly proved his prolific fundraising ability by raising over $500,000 in a matter of weeks.
Kilroy has already begun to accumulate another rash of negative news stories after having voted in favor of questionable taxpayer-funded contracts that bypassed multiple Ohio-based businesses in favor of union-run companies.
As the Columbus Dispatch recently editorialized:
“Clearly, the Democratic commissioners are steering contracts to unionized contractors to court the Democratic Party's labor constituency. This is especially true of Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy, who wants to cement labor support as she runs for Congress this year.” ( Columbus Dispatch, 3/2/08)
Unable to win in the most Democrat-friendly environment since Watergate, Mary Jo Kilroy is facing an uphill climb as she will have to overcome high negatives and defeat a popular and moderate Republican in Steve Stivers.
History. The 15th District was carried by President Bush in 2004 with 50% of the vote.
Geography. The 15th Congressional District of Ohio is located in western central Ohio and covers the entire city of Columbus and its suburbs to the west. It includes the cities of Marysville, Grove City and Hillard. It also covers parts of Franklin , Madison and Union Counties . Deborah Pryce has served this district since being first elected in 1992.
OH-16 (Regula/Open)
State Sen. Kirk Schuring is holding a narrow lead over Matt Miller in the Republican primary race for Ohio ’s 16th Congressional District.
The official winner will face off with John Boccieri, a young state senator who is a relative newcomer to the 16th District.
Boccieri will have to face the voters on his record of voting against sweeping tax cuts in 2005 that included income and sales tax cuts for Ohio taxpayers.
History. The 16th District was carried by President Bush in 2004 with 53% of the vote.
Geography. The 16th Congressional District of Ohio is located in northern Ohio and covers the cities of Canton , Wooster , Massillon , Medina and Wadsworth . It covers Canton and Stark counties in their entireties as well as parts of Wayne , Ashland and Medina Counties . Ralph Regula announced his retirement after serving in the Congress since 1972.
Challengers
OH-18 (Space)
Fred Dailey is set to challenge Zack Space in what is expected to be a competitive campaign.
Fred Dailey has been working hard for the people of Ohio for over a quarter of a century. Dailey was appointed by Governor Voinovich in 1991 to serve as the Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, where he served for 16 years.
Dailey also served his country as a paratrooper with the 101st airborne division in Vietnam .
After a little more than a year in Congress, Zack Space has found himself on the wrong side of many issues in his effort to serve the needs of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Space has toed the line for his liberal Democrat leadership on issues such as illegal immigration, taxes, and spending. More than anything, his liberal record speaks for itself and will prove to be his biggest liability.
History. The 18th District was carried by President Bush in 2004 with 57% of the vote.
Geography. The 18th Congressional District of Ohio is the largest congressional district in Ohio , covering Ross, Jackson , Tuscarawas and Holmes Counties . It includes the cities of New Rumley, Zanesville , Chillocthe, Nelsonville, Coshocton, New Philadelphia and Dover . It has been represented by Zack Space since 2006.
