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Ohio Freshman Space Gets Some Elbow Room in Re-Election Bid
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Race
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Edited | RP Apr 24, 2008 03:57pm |
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| Category | Analysis |
| News Date | Thursday, April 24, 2008 09:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Democratic Rep. Zack Space , an Ohio freshman, appears to be in much stronger shape in his bid for re-election than could have been anticipated 15 months ago, when he entered Congress as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the strongly anti-Republican campaign year of 2006.
The improved outlook for Space has prompted CQ Politics to change its rating on the race in southeastern Ohio’s 18th District to Democrat Favored from Leans Democratic.
The ratings change means that the Ohio 18 contest appears less competitive, giving Space a strong edge, while still acknowledging the possibility that the Republicans could rebound before November and even score an upset. The rating is subject to change at any time.
The typically strong conservative leanings of 18th District voters — President Bush took 57 percent of the vote there when he ran for re-election in 2004 — had Space perched precariously near the top of the GOP’s target list when this election cycle began.
But the Republicans still are struggling to recover from the damage done by the downfall of once-popular Republican Rep. Bob Ney, who dropped his bid for a seventh House term well into the 2006 campaign and then pled guilty to federal corruption charges related to his ties to convicted influencing-peddling lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Furthermore, the Republican nominated in the March 4 primary to challenge Space — Fred Dailey, a former state agriculture director — has a relatively low political profile, and a dangerously low amount of money in his campaign treasury. Updated campaign finance reports that both candidates recently filed with the Federal Election Commission show Dailey had just $36,000 left in his campaign account when April began, compared to the nearly $1 million in cash on hand reported by Space. |
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