DeWine's Battle - Republicans in Ohio Are An Endangered Species

[OzarkDem]

Its all uphill for DeWine. Running a campaign ad this early means he's nervous.

"DeWine’s ads are among the first unveiled by an incumbent senator across the country and are a clear sign that, unlike in 2000, when DeWine defeated Ted Celeste without breaking a sweat, the two-term Republican senator expects a difficult reelection campaign. "

...

"He’s a Republican in Ohio, so that’s close to being an endangered species," said Jennifer Duffy, editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington. "What he’s doing is getting ready for the primary; DeWine wants a big number out of that primary."

Jerry Austin, a Democratic political consultant in Cleveland, said campaign polls likely show "that even though Mike DeWine is known to a lot of people, he is not very well known to a majority of people. So you want to reintroduce him to voters before you start engaging your opponent.

"It’s been 12 years since he has had a race. He knows he’s in a tough race. It’s time to run almost as if he is a first-time candidate."

...

The drawback is that the commercial could provoke a sharp response from Brown, who intends to emphasize issues such as health care. Brown sponsored bus trips to Canada for seniors trying to save money on prescription drugs. He cosponsored a 2000 law that established a pediatric research project in the National Institutes of Health.


http://www.dispatch.com/?story=dispatch/2006/03/26/20060326-A7-00.html