05 December 2005

State GOP Better Off Avoiding Primary

Now that Columbus mayor Michael Coleman has dropped out of the race for governor, Ted Strickland is the Democratic front-runner. This creates a problem for the state GOP because they still have three big names in the race, and that necessitates a money-eating, mudslinging primary.

So the Party wants to see if it can expedite things and choose a front-runner now while hoping to convince at least one of the other candidates to seek other office. So far none of the candidates have hinted they would be willing to do so.

A GOP primary would move politics to the far right, so it would be good for voters in general to avoid one. Jim Petro has already staked out the religious right with his new TV ad, which you might have caught during the Bengals game. If you didn't, it points out that he is a holy Christian man with a holy Christian family.

The GOP will poll party members over the coming weeks, but it's safe to say that it will follow S.O.P and choose the person who best supports corporate and religious special interests. It remains to be seen whether Petro's ad has helped him gain favor.

I would be surprised if they didn't pick Blackwell. He has the most name recognition, he's a staunch party loyalist, and he has national ties. I also wouldn't be surprised if the RNC chimed in on Blackwell's behalf.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

If anyone gets forced out, it'll be Betty Montgomery. She's toast.

She's also the most liberal Republican running, so her supporters would probably go to Petro. That could actually turn it into a race, but I still see Blackwell with a comfortable win.