Any news on Ohio House District 2 out there?

Me

[Columbus Dawg]

Just wondering if there was any news so far this week.

It seems as though things are very tight and getting nasty.

DeWine seems to be attacking McEwen. Like I asked before, are the polls showing something? DeWine is attacking the check bouncing stuff. Brinkman's folks are attacking on the carpetbagging stuff and deservedly so.

The Club for Growth is on the attack against Jean Schmidt for raising taxes during his stint in the Ohio House. I have said this before, but these Ohio state legislators crack me up. They ran promising not to raise taxes (remember all the Taxin Tim ads), then they raise taxes (temporaily err permanently). Then they want a higher office! No thanks.

[TSgt]

I live east of Cincinnati and have seen the attack advertisements. All of the candidates stink.

I just don't want another DeWine or Voinovich in office.

Ohio has the worst Republican candidates ever.

[Columbus Dawg]

I think people are missing Rob Portman a lot already.

[Clintonfatigued]

Pat DeWine was the favorite, but has lost ground. So I'm not clear on who is leading. But I'm very clear on my preference:

JEAN SCHMIDT FOR CONGRESS!!!!!!!!!

[Gipper08]

What problem do you have with Brinkman?

[NeoCaveman]

For your humorous consideration: http://patdewine.blogspot.com

[Dan from Michigan]

It's been somewhat quieter than what I've expected, but thinks are starting to flare up in the papers.

GO BRINKMAN

[Dan from Michigan]

Bwahahahahhaahha! I haven't seen that.

[LandofGrant]

What are the latest breakdowns or estimates in the "polls". Of course DeWine has lost ground. I heard that McEwen is ahead by 10 points according to DeWine's poll. I am biased of course but I feel that McEwen is going to pull it off barely. If Pat were not in the race I would say that Brinkman would be a more formidable candidate than Jean. Brinkman seems to be gaining in popularity this last week but isn't it really too late? I think he will do better than many of us suspect. This will definitely be an interesting Tuesday night!

[hispanichoosier]

Yeah, I'm a fan of Jean's, but I fear her campaign is a total mess. I called & emailed her people offering to make the roadie from Indy to help out with door-to-door efforts during a weekend, and I haven't heard a peep out of anyone. When I did the same for Toomey's campaign in '04, I got a phonecall that evening.

[Columbus Dawg]

McEwen got a big endorsement yesterday from U.S. Rep. John Boehner, a neighboring congressman.

[mdefranc]

"...I'm a fan of Jean's...." - hispanichoosier

Did Schmidt ever meet a tax she didn't like?

[hispanichoosier]

Did Schmidt ever meet a tax she didn't like?

Maybe she's not the best fiscally, but she bats 100% when it comes to pro-life issues.

[GoBucks2002]

Why settle for a tax-raiser who's pro-life when you can have a tax-cutter who's pro-life?

www.gobrinkman.com

[Columbus Dawg]

That is absolutely hilarious.

DeWine may be getting all the money in the world from the establishment, but he is getting bashed hard in public.

[conservative_2001]

If you're fatigued from Clinton, why would you support a congressional candidate who shares his views on taxes?

Jean Schmidt voted to raise our state's Sales Tax by 20%. Tom Brinkman voted against it.

Schmidt voted to raise our gas tax by 6 cents per gallon. Brinkman voted against it.

Schmidt sponsored legislation to allow Hamilton County and Cincinnati to raise its hotel tax. Brinkman voted against it.

Jean Schmidt is an incurable taxaholic. Tom Brinkman has never voted to raise our taxes. The choice is clear.

[conservative_2001]

Tom Brinkman is also 100% pro-life, and unlike Schmidt, he's passed pro-life legislation which will save several hundred babies per year.

See my above post on their tax records. Schmidt has never met a tax she didn't hike. Brinkman has kept his promise to vote against all tax increases. Why would you want a pro-life taxaholic over a pro-life tax-cutter?

[conservative_2001]

Pat DeWine is now attacking Tom Brinkman. DeWine's campaign has collapsed so badly that his only chance of winning is to destroy everyone else. Brinkman has run a positive campaign so far and will continue to do so.

This should also address the issue someone else raised that Brinkman must not be a contender because nobody was attacking him. DeWine is now using the crooked Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters to attack Brinkman in recorded phone messages. DeWine must have also seen the latest round of polling that shows Brinkman taking the lead.

www.gobrinkman.com

[Columbus Dawg]

I do not believe that Deters has ever been a Brinkman guy. If I remember correctly, Brinkman beat Deters hand-picked opponent in the 2000 primary.

I can believe that either McEwen or Brinkman are ahead of DeWine.

[Clintonfatigued]

I think that you're overstating your case. Jean Schmidt's record on taxes is not ideal, but she's hardly a closet 'Rat.

But I do agree that Tom Brinkman is also a good candidate, and after Schmidt he's my second choice.