Ohio: Ralph Regula

Ohio Democratic Party chairman Chris Redfern slammed various Ohio Republican U.S. Representatives Thursday for voting against legislation to provide bridge loans to the U.S. auto industry.

It hasn’t been a week since the race for the 15th Congressional District ended, but a competitive rematch could be in the making.
U.S. Representative-elect Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Columbus) defeated Steve Stivers (R-Columbus) by 2,311 votes, as tabulated last Sunday. This narrow victory for Kilroy comes after a narrow loss of about 1,000 votes to U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Columbus) in 2006. These twin close elections may indicate a tight 2010 race, especially if Stivers runs again.

Democrats carried three U.S. House seats in Ohio this year by riding an avalanche of cash from their congressional committee. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent three times as much on the races than its Republican counterpart, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

The DCCC spent $6.02 million on the 1st, 15th, and 16th Congressional District races from July 1 to Election Day. Meanwhile, the National Republican Campaign Committee spent about $2 million across the 1st and 15th districts only.

Congressman-elect John Boccieri (D-Alliance) has hired Anthony Trevena as his chief of staff for when he heads to Washington, D.C. to represent Ohio's 16th Congressional District.

Trevena has worked for Gov. Ted Strickland in various capacities over the years and is from Guilford Lake in Columbiana County.

Trevena took a leave of absence from his position as deputy director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in order to work for the Boccieri campaign.