Ohio: Tim Ryan

Remember a couple of weeks ago when both BSB and Ohio Daily Blog reported that Marietta-area State Rep. Jennifer Garrison was rumored to be Strickland's pick for running mate (after the last rumored candidate, Congressman Tim Ryan, was taken out of consideration by the Governor himself.)

Sounds to me like it was a trial balloon that popped.  Cincinnati's CityBeat magazine is reporting that Governor Strickland told an audience at a GLBT-targeted fundraiser in Cincinnati that Strickland has no intention on asking Garrison to run as his Lt. Governor:

Strickland appeared at an LGBT-themed fundraiser Saturday afternoon at an East Walnut Hills residence. During a question-and-answer session with attendees, the governor flatly dismissed reports that he was considering Garrison for lieutenant governor in his next race and assured them that wouldn’t happen, said several sources at the event.

You have got to see this, Tim Ryan just completely shuts down a ranting Fox News host with just one sentence.

The Ohio Democratic Party's Saturday dinner in Cleveland, organized to celebrate its 2008 victories, was actually dominated by talk of victories in 2010. (Finally, the party is looking ahead!)

Five Democrats - Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, Cincinnati State Rep. Tyrone Yates, Dover Congressman Zack Space and Cuyahoga County Commissioner Lee Fisher - pitched themselves for the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Republican George Voinovich, who is retiring at the end of next year.

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown urged party members to avoid a costly primary. (He had a brief but nasty tangle with Cincinnati lawyer Paul Hackett in the 2006 primary.

The MSM is really going out of its way to avoid recognizing that political blogs are having an immediate and profound impact on the Democratic Senate primary races.  From the Columbus Dispatch's blog entry on State Rep. Yates announcement:

"You can't anoint for a United States Senate seat, so the desire is that the party have an open primary process and let's see how it shakes out," Yates said. "Something inside of me tells me that at the end of the day I'll prevail."

Gee, I wonder where Rep. Yates may have gotten the idea that there's a desire to let the nominee be chosen by primary, not an ODP coronation may have come from?  Could it be