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Very big enthusiasm in OH for Rick Santorum, very little for Mitt Romney Ohio A-G , Mike Dewine on Pieres Morgen / CNN (tonight) He also said: "People just LIKE him. I think Santorum is going to win."

I think John Kasich would be a great choice for the Newt's VP. The Governor or Ohio, an important swing state and someone that worked on balancing the budget with Newt in Congress. This would also lay the groundwork for a conservative successor to 8 years of Newt. We could have 16 years of conservative leadership to undo all the damage the O did in the last 4 years.

When the Ohio Legislature was tasked with eliminating two Congressional seats with the decennial redistricting, the delegation was on notice. And with Republicans holding a 13-5 advantage, one of their own was likely to be on the chopping block. How Rep. Steve Austria got the short end of the stick was the result of a last-minute deal that came together on Dec. 14, the last day of the Ohio House’s 2011 session.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman today endorsed fellow Republican Josh Mandel, the current state treasurer, for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Sherrod Brown. Although Portman's backing of Mandel was not unexpected, he hadn't announced it until today when he met with The Dispatch's editorial board. "I'm helping Josh," Portman said. "I guess I haven't officially endorsed him yet, so I guess this is a news opportunity. But I'm helping Josh. I don't know if anybody else is going to get in. I think his fundraising in the second quarter has been pretty impressive. I think he's a good...

Ohio Republican Party donors and other attendees at the state GOP's dinner tonight picked former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in a straw poll to take on President Barack Obama in 2012. Romney finished comfortably ahead of the Republican field, picking up 25 percent of the vote. When state party chairman Kevin DeWine announced Romney as the winner, a few people in the audience booed. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (16 percent) finished second, followed by U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (15 percent).

A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll reported last week that 45 percent of GOP voters are not satisfied with the candidates running for their party’s presidential nomination. While the exact same percentage said they are content with the field, the current split is a long way from the same point in 2008 when 72 percent of Republicans said they were pleased with candidates running for the nomination. The poll comes as the 2012 presidential field is pretty much set. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman formally enter the race Tuesday. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann made her entry official at the beginning of...

The first votes for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination are still months away, but Ohioans have already given nearly a quarter of a million dollars to would-be candidates, including $58,000 to “SarahPAC,” former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s political action committee. Trailing just behind Palin in cash from Ohioans is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s “Free and Strong America PAC,” which has received $50,000. Ohio, long a bellwether in presidential politics, isn’t necessarily considered a must-win for Republican primary candidates. But the enthusiasm a candidate musters in the Buckeye state — including financial contributions — can be indicative of how they’ll...

John Boehner thinks President Barack Obama is engaging, smart and brilliant but also remains smarted by the president accusing him of taking taxpayers hostage to secure a tax break for the rich. In an interview with Leslie Stahl of “60 Minutes” for broadcast Sunday night on CBS, Boehner said Obama showed him “disrespect” by calling him a hostage-taker. “Excuse me, Mr. President I thought the election was over,” Boehner said, according to a transcript obtained by POLITICO. “You know, you get a lot of that heated rhetoric during an election. But now it's time to govern.” The relationship between the...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democratic leaders Wednesday afternoon that President Barack Obama has to be “perfect” to win a second term, several senior Democratic aides told Roll Call. Pelosi told leaders on a conference call that Obama will have problems running for re-election because of the loss of governorships in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other states, several aides said. The soon-to-be-ex-Speaker also said House Democrats have many opportunities to take back 25 House seats and win back the majority, aides said. According to one aide, Pelosi also said she wasn’t sure whether the White House is prepared to deal with a...

What a difference a couple of weeks — and a historic “shellacking” in a midterm election — makes. In October, John Boehner had to answer whether he would accept extensions on only the tax rates for middle- and working-class earners if Democrats insisted on blocking extensions for the top tax bracket rates. Today, Boehner announced that not only will he insist on extensions of the current tax rates, but that those extensions be made permanent: “Extending all of the current tax rates and making them permanent will reduce the uncertainty,” said Representative John Boehner, in line take control as House...

The Strickland campaign is pounding the Kasich/Lehman Brothers connection really hard. Strickland is an Obaminite who will support the socialist marxists no matter what. As they believe, Strickland also believes even more government intervention is needed. Not only has Strickland allowed the destructor-in-chief to campaign for him, he has also allowed the former President who actually committed felonies in an attempt to fix a court case against an American citizen to campaign for him also. Strickland is a obviously lying scoundrel. Since many voters affected by sound bite campaign adds I wonder how effective this theme of "Kasich ruined Ohio...

NRCC UPGRADES THE RACE TO "CONTENDER" STATUS Peter Corrigan Advances to ‘Contender’ Status Ohio Candidate Continues to Advance in ‘Young Gun’ Program Washington- The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has officially announced that Peter Corrigan (OH-10) has advanced to “Contender” status, a significant step in the progression of its Young Guns program. Founded in the 2007-2008 election cycle by Reps. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Paul Ryan (R-WI), the Young Guns program is a member-driven organization dedicated to electing open-seat and challenger candidates nationwide. Corrigan is challenging seven-term incumbent Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) in Ohio’s 10th Congressional District this...

The county were I live has had a 30% jump in GOP registrations! A large part of this is due to the hard work of the local TEA Party! See story at link...

Great news, folks! Jim Graham is running for Congress in the 17th district of Ohio - a seat currently held by Tim Ryan (D). Ryan is a very liberal democrat, a close ally of Pelosi and voted for ObamaCare, Cap and Tax, and every bailout and stimulis that his (former?) girlfriend's mother told him to. That's right - he dated Pelosi's daughter. This is also the same seat (OH-17) that Jim ("Beam me up, Scotty!") Trafficant held until he was convicted and sent to jail. Jim Graham is making a race out of it - Ryan is showing less than...

According to multiple sources, including those folks who watch TV ad buys for a living, the first incumbent House Democrat to see the national party (DCCC) fully pull its financial support for TV ads is: Ohio Democrat Steve Driehaus. Driehaus is facing a rematch with the Republican former congressman he defeated in 2008, Steve Chabot. Polling in this Cincinnati-area district this entire year had shown Driehaus behind Chabot. It's a district that in 2008 saw a surge in African-American turnout that many folks attributed to Barack Obama's name being on the ballot. Without the same level of support, it's an...

Democrats in Cleveland will get a political twofer later this month: a joint campaign appearance by President Obama and his wife, Michelle. The first couple will visit the city on Oct. 17 to stump for Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who is in a tough race for re-election against John R. Kasich, a former Republican congressman. On Monday, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was in Youngstown headlining a rally and fundraiser for the Democratic governor. The Cleveland visit will mark the first time the Obamas have campaigned together in this election cycle...

Distressing signals for Democrats keep streaming in as key polls in two major electoral bellwether states show the prospect of major gains for Republicans in November. Long considered two critical and accurate measures of the electorate’s mood in Presidential and other federal races, recent polls in Ohio and Pennsylvania are showing signs of voter disappointment with Democrats, particularly in hard fought Senate and Gubernatorial races gaining national attention. In a soon-to-be-released survey by Raleigh, NC-based Public Policy Polling, a majority of Ohio-based respondents surveyed claim they’d prefer former President George W. Bush in the White House than current President Barack...

Less than 200 votes place Bob Gibbs ahead of Fred Dailey for the Republican nomination in the 18th Congressional District, but the results could change as county boards of elections wait for provisional ballots and conduct an automatic recount. According to the Ohio Secretary of State's Office, Gibbs is ahead in the election with 10,953 votes. Fred Dailey received 10,789 votes, a difference of 164 votes. The winner will run against incumbent U.S. Rep. Zack Space, D-Dover. "Provisional and absentees, as long as they were postmarked by the time, will be received up to 10 days after the election," said...

A conservative Minnesota congresswoman who has been an outspoken critic of Democratic health care plans will be the keynote speaker for a Republican dinner in Ohio. The Hamilton County GOP in Cincinnati says Rep. Michele Bachmann will speak at the annual fundraising event Feb. 26 called the Lincoln-Reagan Dinner. The county party praised Bachmann in a statement Monday as leading the fight against big government. She organized a protest rally last month against health care legislation.

A new conservative talk radio show, The Conservative Underground Radio Show, can be listened to at Electric Talk Radio at http://curadio.reaganites.org There will be a new show every Saturday night at 10 PM. It currently has about 4,000 listeners per week and is based in Cleveland, Ohio.