Cardinal Updates

There are a few campaign updates from the Buckeye State that are worth noting...

OH-01: PolitickerOH reports that Rep. Steve Chabot's race is expected to be a barnburner.  That's nothing new to Chabot...  Chabot is a strong campaigner and a tremendous fundraiser and the "Obama effect" is just the latest in a long line of hope and change gimmicks that Democrats have relied on against a great conservative candidate.

OH-03: The Democrat candidate, Jane Mitakides, tried to mislead voters when her FEC report came out.  She flaunted "grassroots financial support from inside the district," implying that she got a vast majority of her donations from OH-3 voters.  Her claims couldn't be farther from the truth.  When her numbers are broken down, 43.8% of her fundraising came out of the pockets of her and her family.  When those contributions are subtracted from her fundraising total, only 13% of her itemized contributions came from voters in the 3rd District.  Since when was that "grassroots financial support form inside the district"?  In contrast, Rep. Turner has over 4x the cash on hand, and is about to pass the $1 million threshold.  A vast majority of his contributions come from individual donors, and he has donated nothing to his campaign.  When it comes to who is actually receiving grassroots financial support in the race, it's clear that it's Congressman Turner.  More on that story at WMD.
 

OH-07: The Democrat candidate, Sharen Neuhardt, has apparently fired her campaign manager and brought in some new talent.  As I reported on WMD, Jim Alexee is out at Team Neuhardt and Andrew Tappan is in.  Tappan previously worked for John Edwards, Sen. Sherrod Brown and Bob Shamansky (lost to Rep. Pat Tiberi).  Meanwhile, Republican candidate State Sen. Steve Austria called on Congress to stay in session to get some work done on an energy bill that would bring down the price of gasoline.  (PolitickerOH)

OH-15: Republican candidate State Sen. Steve Stivers recently received visitors from Greenpeace and he has released a statement about energy and climate change issues.  His Democrat opponent, Mary Jo Kilroy, apparently was unable to make it to a local parade and there was some controversy surrounding whether or not she sent a "look alike" in her place.  (WMD)

OH-16: The Democrat candidate, State Sen. John Boccieri finally registered to vote in the district (WMD), but that has been the least of his problems lately.  The Ohio Republican Party pointed out that Boccieri was misleading voters with his endorsement list on his website that still contained endorsements from the primary (WMD).  And video has resurfaced of an interview that Boccieri gave in which he danced around pro-life issues like a ballerina.  If you think abortion is a "distraction from what really matters" then Boccieri is clearly your guy; but if you think protecting the value of human life is more than just a wedge issue, then Kirk Schuring is your only choice.  (WMD)

Matt Hurley is the Contributing Editor of Weapons of Mass Discussion, an Ohio-based blog, and a member of the State of Ohio Blogger Alliance.