Posted on 11/07/2006 5:31:54 PM PST by alchemist54
A Democrat won the Ohio governorship for the first time since 1986 as Rep. Ted Strickland easily defeated Republican Ken Blackwell in one of 36 races for states' top elected office.
With 10 new governors guaranteed to come out of Tuesday's elections, state governments were in for their biggest shake-up in years _ one that had a chance of being even more tumultuous if Democrats managed to reverse years of Republican dominance.
Strickland's win in Ohio was based on a statistical analysis of the vote from voter interviews conducted for The Associated Press by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.
Blackwell had hoped to become the state's first black governor, filling the seat left open by term-limited Republican Gov. Bob Taft.
Elsewhere, very early returns in Florida showed Republican Charlie Crist, the state attorney general, leading Democratic Rep. Jim Davis in the contest to replace term-limited GOP Gov. Jeb Bush.
Also, very early returns showed sitting Republican governors in Georgia and South Carolina ahead. Neither of those races were closely contested.
Ten states had open seats because of retirements, term limits and primary defeat. Five other states were so competitive that incumbent governors were fighting hard to avoid being unseated.
The biggest names were in some of the least competitive races.
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California was safely ahead in pre-election surveys, while Democrat Eliot Spitzer _ an attorney general famous for pushing for Wall Street and corporate reform _ was far ahead in New York, and polls showed Democrat Deval Patrick on track to become Massachusetts' first black governor. He would be only the second elected black governor ever nationwide. GOP Gov. Rick Perry of Texas was a favorite to beat back a Democrat challenger and two independents, including musician and comic Kinky Friedman.
The Communists are celebrating May Day in November now.
It does appear that strickland and the rats are going to take over ohio Cannot believe there are this may idiots in ohio!!!!
Ohio has had Democrat leadership before. Bob Hope refused to play the Ohio State Fair while there was a Democrat governor, if I recall.
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