Forget the GOP Senate primary. If you’re looking for evidence of Tea Bagger rebellion in the GOP in Ohio, look at the potentially GOP primaries for the Secretary of State’s race (Former House Speaker/Man of Many Residences Jon Husted v. County Treasurer/Social Conservative gladfly Sandy O’Brien) and the Attorney General’s race (Former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine v. Delaware County Prosecutor David Yost.)
Last night, the Yost campaign announced it was endorsed over DeWine by the Butler County Republican Party. If you’re not familiar with Ohio GOP geopolitics, let me explain it to you this way. Think about your last county party dinner and who your county party got as its featured speaker. Maybe you got the Governor or a statewide.
Well, the Butler County GOP has regularly gotten people like the late Tony Snow or Karl Rove. This is Boehner-land, after all. The Ohio GOP held its state party dinner in nearby Warren County this year.
In order to get any endorsement, you had to get a supermajority, at least 60% of the county’s central committeepersons. Yost got 68%…. over a former U.S. Senator.
DeWine has run, a, well, unusual campaign for someone with his political resume. His campaign website hasn’t been updated at all since his announcement speech. He was not a featured speaker at the Ohio GOP’s state dinner. He’s seemed to be virtually nonexistent on the campaign trail ( I can find little evidence through local media of him actually campaigning.)
You have to wonder if DeWine is either extremely confident to the point of being complacent (Yost’s press release actually touted a poll showing DeWine still polling at 58% among registered Republican voters in a primary matchup with Yost) or simply disinterested.
Regardless, the Butler County GOP endorsement means than DeWine is facing a credible rebellion on his right flank smack dab in the middle of the Ohio GOP’s geopolitical base.
[UPDATE:] In what can only be described as a dumb political move, the DeWine campaign later this afternoon actually gave credence to Yost’s spin that this endorse is significant by issuing a statement that was picked up by the Hamilton Pulse Journal:
“We are confident that Republican voters in Ohio will nominate Mike DeWine to be their Attorney General candidate. In poll after poll, Mike DeWine is the only candidate who can beat Richard Cordray. DeWine is known across the state by an overwhelming 93% of voters. As a former county prosecutor, he has the vision and experience to clean up corruption, fix the state crime lab, and make sure our state does everything possible to promote economic growth and job creation.”
I don’t think this response helps DeWine’s cause at all when all they say is that he can defeat Richard Corday because 93% of voters have heard of him.
{ 10 comments }
First win for Cordray’s state property database
by Brian on July 26, 2007 · Comments
In the ol’ mailbag yesterday:
Good for the city, good for the state, and good for the community. I particularly liked this quote from Cordray:
It’s called competent, responsive, responsible government. It’s every liberal’s goal for government. Full text of the release after the jump (It’s going to be a LEED-certified project!). [click to continue…]
{ 1 comment }