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Democrats Have a Pulse in NW Ohio
Thursday, November 9, 2006Wednesday, November 8. 2006
A look at the results
Fog delays across Northwest Ohio have bumped
me from Rusty Hoops'
morning schedule on WONW AM 1280 Defiance, so
let me pass along some
observations on the local and state results I
was planning to speak
about on air.
It should be noted the Democratic Party has a pulse in the area. Local Democrats ousted Republicans in Williams (Davis over Stuckey) and Henry (Myers over Phillips) counties. In Putnam County, a Democrat (Love) defeated a Republican (Jerwers) for an open seat.
On the broader results, you can see Democrats drew a much larger percentage of votes than they have in the past few elections. For example, Democrat Ted Strickland actually won Henry County over Republican Ken Blackwell. In '02, Republican Gov. Bob Taft won Henry and the surrounding counties by 30-40 percentage points. Democrat Sherrod Brown finished just six points in back of Republican Sen. Mike DeWine - an almost shocking result, considering Brown's unabashed liberalism and positions on abortion, gun control and gay rights.
Even the cakewalks weren't quite as sweet as usual. The Republican shell game for legislative seats in Northwest Ohio went as expected, with Steve Buehrer taking the 1st Ohio Senate seat, Lynn Wachtmann regaining his Ohio House seat and Bruce Goodwin, the GOP's designate, claiming the Ohio House seat Buehrer was exiting. However, things were a little tighter than usual, despite the extreme disparities in name recognition and financial support. Of the three Republicans, only Buehrer cracked the 60% support level, something the GOP has done with ease in these districts for the past several cycles. Goodwin won, 55%-45% over college student Ben McCullough; Wachtmann won, 56%-44% over young, conservative Democrat Angie Byrne.
The question now arises: What will local Democrats and Republicans learn from these results?
I'd humbly suggest both sides need to work out local agendas for the future. All the Dems who won or did well at the local level or for the statehouse were conservative, and made no bones about it. Local Democratic activists tend to be more liberal. Will they find common ground for an agenda on local economic, budget and tax issues with the kinds of candidates who can win around here?
For the Republicans, the losses and much smaller margins of victory signal an electorate tired of the same old-same old. Again, an agenda on the issues important to voters is the key to stemming any Democratic inroads. Names are having less and less of an impact, and the Democrats are learning what kind of candidates can win around here. The Republican label used to be all you needed, but the sun is setting on that former truth. For Republicans to maintain power, they must sharpen their conservative message and provide real, active policy proposals to back it up. Will county party leaderships and the old guard allow new ideas and new candidates to take the point for the GOP?
It should be noted the Democratic Party has a pulse in the area. Local Democrats ousted Republicans in Williams (Davis over Stuckey) and Henry (Myers over Phillips) counties. In Putnam County, a Democrat (Love) defeated a Republican (Jerwers) for an open seat.
On the broader results, you can see Democrats drew a much larger percentage of votes than they have in the past few elections. For example, Democrat Ted Strickland actually won Henry County over Republican Ken Blackwell. In '02, Republican Gov. Bob Taft won Henry and the surrounding counties by 30-40 percentage points. Democrat Sherrod Brown finished just six points in back of Republican Sen. Mike DeWine - an almost shocking result, considering Brown's unabashed liberalism and positions on abortion, gun control and gay rights.
Even the cakewalks weren't quite as sweet as usual. The Republican shell game for legislative seats in Northwest Ohio went as expected, with Steve Buehrer taking the 1st Ohio Senate seat, Lynn Wachtmann regaining his Ohio House seat and Bruce Goodwin, the GOP's designate, claiming the Ohio House seat Buehrer was exiting. However, things were a little tighter than usual, despite the extreme disparities in name recognition and financial support. Of the three Republicans, only Buehrer cracked the 60% support level, something the GOP has done with ease in these districts for the past several cycles. Goodwin won, 55%-45% over college student Ben McCullough; Wachtmann won, 56%-44% over young, conservative Democrat Angie Byrne.
The question now arises: What will local Democrats and Republicans learn from these results?
I'd humbly suggest both sides need to work out local agendas for the future. All the Dems who won or did well at the local level or for the statehouse were conservative, and made no bones about it. Local Democratic activists tend to be more liberal. Will they find common ground for an agenda on local economic, budget and tax issues with the kinds of candidates who can win around here?
For the Republicans, the losses and much smaller margins of victory signal an electorate tired of the same old-same old. Again, an agenda on the issues important to voters is the key to stemming any Democratic inroads. Names are having less and less of an impact, and the Democrats are learning what kind of candidates can win around here. The Republican label used to be all you needed, but the sun is setting on that former truth. For Republicans to maintain power, they must sharpen their conservative message and provide real, active policy proposals to back it up. Will county party leaderships and the old guard allow new ideas and new candidates to take the point for the GOP?