Sat 6 Aug 2005
Will Paul Hackett Challenge Mike DeWine in Ohio? (UPDATED)
Posted by Editor under Hackett[14] Comments
Everybody’s favorite foul mouthed columnist repeats what seems to be on everyone’s lips in Washington DC:
OHIO BLUNDERS
Republican Jean Schmidt, who nearly lost a special congressional election in a heavily Republican Cincinnati district Tuesday, failed to return telephone calls from supporters who had lined up large amounts of donations and who offered significant technical assistance.
Schmidt, the surprise winner of a bitterly contested Republican primary where she figured to finish third, was not prepared for a tough general election campaign. Her poor performance has led to speculation that she will face serious opposition in next May’s 2006 GOP primary.
A footnote: Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett ran so well as a Democrat against Schmidt that party strategists in Washington fear he will be the candidate against Republican Sen. Mike DeWine next year.
UPDATE: More discussion of this over @ MyDD.
I don’t see it happening.
Whether Hackett runs or not, he may not get to face DeWine. I think that there will probably be a primary challenge.
A primary challenge? In your wildest dreams Eric!
There will be a primary challenge to Mike DeWine. Wether it will be serious or not is yet to be determined.
My bad, I thought Eric was suggesting the democrats would have a primary. I seriously doubt that happening, Brown has first dibs on the race with Ryan waiting in the wings. If Paul Hackett wants to use his momenteum and name recgonition I would think LG along side Strickland would be a good spot.
The Democrats won’t have a primary for Senator; they will have to have a united front in that race from day one to have a chance at beating DeWine.
I don’t see Hackett running statewide for anything, I can see him staying local running for something like Hamilton County Commissioner in 2006.
Paul hackett would be an excellent opponent for DeWine unless he chooses to run for LG with Strickland!
Hackett’s voice is really national. No matter what he does Iraq will be the topic of conversation. Run for a state or local office and his strong suit, namely experience in Iraq, will be insignificant.
If he wants to make significant change the House or Senate are his best options.
Viking-
If you think for a second that a man with as large and as bombastic a personality as Maj. Hackett is going to run for something as pissant as Hamilton CO Commissioner, you need to shut up and finish high school before you begin to wax intellectual with the big boys. Lets recap:
1.Regardless of speculation regarding turnout or anything of that nature, Maj. Hackett pulled 48% of the vote in a race that was not supposed to be any sort of a race, and therefore has become a star in the party on both a nationwide and local level.
2.Mike DeWine has an approval rating of 37% and only 31% of people in ohio believe he should be re-elected.
3.Hackett is a charismatic, intelligent, centrist and passionate leader, and he is exactly the sort of man who, like Obama, Kennedy and FDR, has the innate ability to inspire and move people by his very presence.
4.His ability to pull support from both sides of the aisle in exactly the sort of leadership that this state and this nation needs at this juncture. He has the ability to truly be a “uniter, not a divider,” like our commander-in-chump has dubbed himself on so many occasions.
A bid by Paul Hackett for US Senate against DeWine would be a natural continuation of momentum that was built in southwestern ohio, and would translate into energizing not only the ODP, but the Democratic Party as a whole. County Commissioner?? give me a break!!! to quote the DCCC ads “you dont know Schmidt” about Paul Hackett.
I would be surprised if Hackett went for DeWine’s seat.
He swore before that he’d go back to Iraq. I’ll take his word for it and say that, for now, Hackett is stepping out of the spotlight.
If Paul Hackett doesn’t return to Iraq it will be because we beg him to stay home and fight in Ohio beside us.
First off, I’ll shut up when I feel like it-and I don’t feel like it. Anyhow, here’s what I have to say about your comment:
Fair point. But, the only reason he pulled 48% of the vote is because turnout was low. If it was a general election with normal turnout, Schmidt would have won by a much larger margin because of that R next to her name. He also pulled crossover votes (which made the election closer) by running deceptive ads and pulled more crossovers because of a low enthusiasm for Schmidt among Republicans. Hackett also ran a superb GOTV operation, which drove up his turnout.
I think Mike DeWine’s low approval and re-election numbers are due to a dissatisfaction among Republicans in the base, not due to dissatisfaciton among independent voters, which will ultimatley decide who wins the 2006 Senate race. When push comes to shove, Republicans will vote for Mike DeWine on election day.
Hackett may be carismatic (sp), but he’s definlaty no JFK yet. He only ran for Congress, and lost-that’s it! If that puts him in the class of JFK, I don’t know what politics has come to. He’s also not as centrist as he’s put out to be-the only issue he reaches out on is guns. He’s anti-war, pro tax increase, pro-choice, pro-gay mairrage…and the list goes on.
The only reason Hackett pulled any Republican votes in the recent election is because he ran deceptive ads that made him look like a Republican. Many Republicans were also dissatisfied with Jean Schmidt’s candidacy, which created crossover votes on top of the ones created by Hackett’s ads. I don’t think there’s a significant number of Republicans that would vote for Hackett in a general election, but there were a significant number in the 2nd district election because of the reasons I cited above.
I’d like to make a couple more points:
-Do you think Paul Hackett would get the nod over Sherrod Brown? Or Tim Ryan at that? Sherrod Brown would make a good candidate for you guys, and at this point I think he’s going to make a run for Senate. If not Brown then Tim Ryan. I don’t see Hackett pushing either of those two aside.
-What qualifies Hackett to be a Senator? Let’s see…his only governemental experience is on the Milford City Council and being a Congressional candidate. I don’t think Hackett is qualified (yet) to be a Senator, hence why I said he should run for Hamilton County Comissioner first. That would give him enough experience to run for Senate, or any statewide office at that.
The reason I suggested Hackett run for Comissioner in the first place is because he needs some experience in Government to run for an office like the Senate. I don’t think he’s nearly qualified enough at this point to make a run for Senate. He could also win a commissioner race, potentially challenging Phil Hemilich or Pat DeWine. He would have an advantage running in Hamilton County because he has high name ID there. His name ID is nowhere as high in the rest of the state.
Hackett also swore he would go back to Iraq if he lost the Congressional race…we’ll see how that shakes out.
Reminding Viking Spirit and others that Hackett said he’d be returning to Iraq if/when his unit is recalled to duty. Check it out.
Wierd, I could swear he said he was going to volunteer to go back if he lost.
One more thing to add to my last post…I could see Hackett running for Attorney General or Secretary of State if he runs statewide.