President Bush won Ohio by 2 percentage points in 2004, an electoral vote victory that clinched his re-election. It may be good fortune for him that the election was two years ago instead of this year: A range of factors — from Bush’s depressed approval ratings to ethics scandals plaguing key figures in the state Republican Party — have made this a uniquely challenging midterm campaign year for the Ohio GOP.
And the party’s inability to shake loose from these problems has spurred CQPolitics.com to change its ratings on the state’s marquee races to mark the Democrats’ improved chances: the Senate race featuring Republican incumbent Mike DeWine’s bid for a third term has been moved to No Clear Favorite from Leans Republican, and the race to succeed beleaguered outgoing Republican Gov. Bob Taft shifts to Leans Democratic from No Clear Favorite.
Despite strenuous Republican efforts to slap the “liberal” label on DeWine’s Democratic challenger, seven-term Rep. Sherrod Brown, a series of independent polls and a growing opinion among state observers suggest that this is one of the year’s most closely contested Senate contests.
And in the governor’s race, six-term Democratic Rep. Ted Strickland — who has proved his political strength with easy House victories in southern Ohio’s conservative-leaning 6th District — appears to have developed a palpable edge over the Republican nominee, Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.
http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/09/gop_facing_prospect_of_going_0.html
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