I wanted to take a moment to update everyone on my campaign for Congressin Ohio's 5th District. The primary took place on Tuesday and now I am facing Bob Latta in the general election which will be held on December 11th.
More below the fold!
As some of you may know, the Republican candidates here just finished one of the most divisive primaries in Ohio history. Both leading candidates raced to the bottom in an effort to discredit one another, my opponent in the general election was even found guilty on four counts of violating the state ethics code by the Ohio Ethics Commission, but thats another story.
In an effort to ensure that this doesnt happen again, I have issued a campaign pledge to my opponent, to stop any personal attacks before they happen. I believe that negative campaigning never created a single job for my community, it never solved a healthcare crisis and I KNOW FOR SURE it never ended a war. My opponent hasn't responded to the pledge but I hope he does.
That being said, I wanted to take a moment to address some of the common misconceptions of this race because I really do believe that with your help we can win this race which may have implications in 2008 congressional elections.
The 5th District of Ohio is too Republican for you to win.
In 2006, Governor Ted Strickland won this district by 10 points and Senator Sherrod Brown carried the district by two points. Voters in the 5th are not happy with their Republican leadership and we believe that this is still the case. On issues like creating jobs, building the local economy and ending the war in Iraq, voters are fed up with the status quo and are asking for action.
You only have 5 weeks, how are you going to bridge the gap?
As you know, special elections are all about turnout. With no other issues on the ballot on December 11, only voters who are very motivated will cast a ballot. I certainly don't want to give away our strategy, but I am 100% convinced we will have the field resources we need in order to gt our people to the polls on election day.
What outside support have you recieved?
We have received tremendous support from the Ohio Delegation. Senator Brown has been a good friend to us, as have Governor Strickland, Congresswoman Kaptur, Congressman Ryan, Congresswoman Tubbs-Jones, Congressman Space, Congressman Wilson, Congressman Kucinich and Congresswoman Sutton. I firmly believe they will continue to be integral to my campaign and provide the sort of support we need to get the job done.
I want to take the time to stick around for an hour or so and answer any specific questions you have! I also would like to ask for your help again. This isn't going to be an easy race, but it is worth it to take up this challenge. Your helpwould mean a great deal to me as I move into this next phase of the campaign!
