Special Election in Ohio Shows Preview of 2006 House Races

Andrew Simon

Although we are in the heat of the summer, a very special Special Election took place on Tuesday. When Congressman Rob Portman (R-Ohio) was appointed U.S. Trade Representative, his seemingly solid GOP seat was left open.

Democrat Paul Hackett, an Iraqi war veteran and strong critic of President Bush’s foreign policy, faced off against former Republican State Rep. Jean Schmidt. In 2004, Bush and Portman received more than 70% of the vote in Ohio’s Second Congressional District but that didn’t scare off Hackett, who ran strong from the beginning and managed to come about 4% behind Schmidt on Tuesday.

Pundit Charlie Cook wrote, “ A Schmidt win of less than five points should be a very serious warning sign for Ohio Republicans that something is very, very wrong.” Tuesday’s ‘win’ is a great sign that more surprises are yet to come and that the American people, even in Red State Ohio, are growing weary of wayward Republicans.

Daily Kos has done some impressive reporting and commentary about Ohio’s special election and is worthy of praise.

But even more deserving is Paul Hackett, a determined Democrat who stood strong behind his message and showed us that every seat is up for grabs in 2006.

By Andrew Simon Aug. 02, 2005