Ohio: Mike Dewine

At some point, you have to admire the Columbus Dispatch's complete abandonment of journalism ethics.  I mean, you let a guy announce his candidacy for Governor by giving him an editorial column, instead of a newsstory that addresses some of these points.

Today, the Columbus Dispatch published a column by former U.S. Senator/widely rumored GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike DeWine titled "Ohio needs new direction in tough times."  Nowhere does the Dispatch editorial writers notify its readership that this column is written by a person who has the personal ambition to run against Governor Strickland, and therefore, is a less than objective critic of the current Governor.

The Columbus Dispatch has the latest Quinnpiac poll shows generally good news for the Strickland Administration:

• Strickland crushes, crushes John Kasich 56% to 26%.  Kasich actually does worse against Governor Strickland than former U.S. Senator Mike DeWine who loses 54% to 32% in a head-to-head matchup.  This is probably largely due to DeWine's highly name recognition.  Regardless, both "top tier" GOP prospects aren't polling any better (one could argue worse) than Ken Blackwell's 2006 election result.
• Although a large segment of the respondents felt they didn't know enough about Governor Strickland's education reform plan, those who do feel they know enough support it.  42% believe it will improve education in Ohio; 22% do not.

Ohio Republicans are deploying their own “Bull Connor” to scare people from voting, the Ohio Democratic Party accused today.

ODP chair Chris Redfern and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman (D) held a conference call with reporters to characterize the Greene Co. Sheriff Gene Fischer’s request for all registration cards and address-change forms for all who registered and voted last week in the county.

Both presidential campaigns are barnstorming the Dayton area today and it appears to be a swing area in this swing state according to recent voting history, which shows general Republican strength but new Democratic trends in the region's core counties.