LAT: Senate Primaries heat up With Intraparty Rivalries(Ohio Senate race)

[Tiggeroshii]

By Ronald Brownstein, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — A few weeks ago, Democrats feared they might not attract even a single first-tier candidate to challenge Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), one of their top targets for 2006.

Now, to the surprise of Democratic leaders in Ohio and Washington, two serious candidates are pursuing the nomination — Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and attorney Paul Hackett, the Iraq war veteran whose strong bid for a U.S. House seat in a special election this summer rocketed him to celebrity status in the party.

If Hackett doesn't step aside, as some in the Democratic establishment hope, the party faces the prospect of an expensive and divisive primary in a Republican-leaning state where Democrats usually need every dollar, and every last vote, to prevail.

"I would guarantee it's going to get nasty," said David Woodruff, Hackett's campaign manager in the House race. "We are going to have an aggressive campaign."

The possible Ohio collision is one of several Senate primaries that loom as wild cards as the two parties devise their strategies for the 2006 campaign. Each confronts the risk that its nominees in key states will be weakened by intraparty fights before the survivor can take on the opposition in the general election.

The most damaging primary could occur in Rhode Island, where conservative Stephen Laffey is challenging moderate Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee in a heavily Democratic state. A sharply contested primary could also complicate GOP chances in Tennessee.

But it appears that primaries may cause more headaches for Democrats than Republicans next year.

More...


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-primaries13oct13,0,7258757.story?coll=la-home-nation

[roguevalley]

1. HACKETT! HACKETT! HACKETT! HACKETT!

[Tiggeroshii]

2. I just hope they don't give Brown too much...

The more they waste the money on Brown the more they'll risk Hackett's challenge with DeWine

[Red State Lib]

3. Step aside Sherrod

Fuck Sherrod Brown. Let him staty in his safe congressional seat. We need this Iraqi vet getting our message out. He has ready mae credentils (they had a quarter century to pore over poor old John Kerry's records. We need this vet shouting from the halls of the Senate, THIS IS BULLSHIT. Sherrod Brown couldn't even lick Diebold in his own state.How in hell can he lick the entire BFEE as a Junior Senator. We need stars in the Dem party, not loyal hacks.

[Kolesar]

4. Sherrod will win the primary ...

... because he has name recognition where the Democrats live--in the north.

Sherrod will win because we remember he spoke at almost every antiwar rally in Cleveland. Note that Paul's position was that we had to "stay the course in Iraq".

Ohio has such a dearth of candidates that Paul Hackett would have been a choice only if they could not find another candidate. He has only had one short campaign. Paul would lose to Dewine as did Joel Hyatt who only had name recognition and no campaign experience.

Step aside, Paul Hackett

[Red State Lib]

5. reply

As an Ohion, you obviously know these guys better than I. Trafficante' was my personal favorite, hehe.
No, I got probs of my own in Alabama with Judge Roy Moore announcing for Governor oin '06. The horror! The horror!

[Rowdyboy]

9. Very interesting to see how someone who actually lives in Ohio feels

It confirms my feelings on the subject.....

[mod mom]

11. but Paul Hackett does excellent in Repub districts, where Sherrod Brown

will not.

The repubs will vote for Dewine over Brown, where Hackett, an Iraq War Veteran, can deliver both the Dems and a portion of the Repub vote. I have a lot of respect for Sherrod Brown, but I think this is another example of POOR LEADERSHIP in the Ohio Dem Party. Plus Hackett brings a level of excitment where Brown does not.

On a brighter note, I heard yesterday on NPR that Denny White, disasterous Chair of the Ohio Dems will be stepping aside in a couple months.

[mtnester]

17. Sherrod Brown cannot win without Franklin County

Cuyahoga County is not the only county in Ohio, whether you think so or not. And Sherrod Brown will sink like a stone in SW Ohio, where Hackett re-took strong Bush counties like Scioto and Brown during his run at OH-2 and made it a close race in the other counties.

Hackett will also sit better with rural Ohioans than Sherrod Brown.

This is a no-brainer...the DLC better stay out of this one.

[MaineDem]

6. What a stupid headline

Primaries ARE intraparty contests.

[Red State Lib]

7. reply:-)

Well, hell, he DID write teh sumbitch at 3:02 AM Eastern, HAHAHA
Dems in '06!!!
R

[Rev_Harvey_McKank]

8. Not so bad....

Are primaries really that damaging? As long as they keep it relatively positive, it gets the names out in the public eye early, and gets voters familiar with the eventual candidate.

[Blue for Ohio]

10. Sounds like a good plan...

*IF* they can keep it positive.

-Blue

[Tesha]

13. Democrats tend not to obey the 11th Commandment. (NT)

[Tiggeroshii]

16. Since when was Reagan a prophet?

I take my commandments from say, people I respect, not Republicans :P

[Tesha]

20. Unfortunately, when it comes to politics, Republicans know much more...

Unfortunately, when it comes to politics, Republicans know much more
about how to "play the game" (should be "fight the war"). Reagan was
right on this topic. Let the brawls happen in the back room, but when
the survivor steps out, "everyone supports our candidate".

Democrats still seem to thing that politics is some sort of gentlemen's
game, and that there are Marquess of Queensberry rules. The Re-
publicans, by comparison, just want to make sure that they
(metaphorically) kill all the opposition until they're dead,
dead, dead, and they will use any and all means necessary
including slander, lies, innuendo, rigged voters' lists, rigged
voting machines, staged riots at vote-counting offices, etc.

Tesha

[salin]

21. Bingo

these candidates need to run positive campaigns - both to try to win, but also to promote a GOP loss - at the hands of whoever wins. Let the primary determine which candidate the state is likely to get behind - and go from there. I hope the campaign doesn't turn into a battle, it doesn't need to become one.

[rpannier]

12. How about if Brown steps aside instead?

Like so many Democratic voters want.

[Punkingal]

14. This kind of shit is what causes us dems trouble....

people like Harry Reid and other leaders with agendas to pick our candidates for us. He has done a piss-poor job of it in Nevada, which has a Republican governor, 2 of 3 congressional seats are Republican, and 1 Republican senator. I say bring on the primary...give the people a choice.

[dazzlerazzle]

15. primary in ohio

the primary fight between the two should be the most important factor in getting a solid candidate... that is what primary races are for.. i am leaning toward hackett, but they will have to fight it out.

[mtnester]

18. I agree in some instances the primary is a good fight to the finish

however, a heated primary among Dems will take away from the DAMAGING primary the Repubs are going to have between Petro and Blackwell (sorry Betty).

Why would we want to distract from the one thing that will help us immensely is beyond me.

[AirAmFan]

19. Step aside, Hackett! Trying to appeal to GOP (ie WHITE) voters could

SHATTER the Democratic Party in Ohio, as did Mark Green's race for Mayor in NYC.

Hackett has not even paid his "dues" as did Mark Green. And his positions on issues especially important to Black voters (for example, voter disfranchisement in Cleveland and police brutality in Cincinnati) are not well known. Democrats cannot win when they insult the minority base of the party, in very likely vain attempts to win white votes.

There seems to be a racial "code" in this thread: People say "Republican voters", "rural voters", and "SW Ohio" when what they really mean is WHITES. Sherrod Brown is an experienced, capable, truly anti-war Black candidate with excellent name recognition. If Hackett's ill-advised campaign enters a fratricidal primary against Brown, supporters of Hackett need to get some well known Black Democrats on board and visible, and Hackett needs to take strong positions on racial issues. Otherwise, he may inadvertently split the Ohio Democratic Party, the way so many other ambitious but inexperienced white candidates have, all over the country.

[Aaaargh]

23. Sherrod Brown is...

white.

Perhaps you're thinking of Mayor Mike Coleman of Columbus, who's running for governor, while OH Sec. of State Ken Blackwell is running for the Republican nomination. This would be a contest between two African-American candidates. Coleman has competition for the nomination, though, from Rep. Ted Strickland, who's white and from southern OH.

My judgment is that, while Sherrod Brown is a very good man, in light of the fact that good Democratic candidates for Congress or state offices have been defeated by Republicans in election after election in recent years, that Hackett might have a better chance. The publicity he received over the congressional race might serve to bring more attention to the Senate contest, and more financial contributions.

I say this as someone who agrees with Brown more than Hackett on issues. But I'm tired of Democrats losing in OH.

When it comes to the gub race, I'll vote for Strickland in the primary, because I don't think much of Coleman (a loyal 'employee' of dominant Columbus business interests), and to be straight about it, Blackwell, who engineered the 2004 OH election theft and has a very bad reputation for ambition and ruthlessness, can probably defeat a black opponent more easily than a white one. That's just how it is.

[newyawker99]

25. Hi Aaaargh!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[mopinko]

22. we need primaries. we need to good clean primaries.

the problems with the dem party need to be worked out in primaries, and we the people need to make sure they are done right. ISSUES, ISSUES, ISSUES!!! set the tone, and make sure the media gets the stories straight, which should be easier during the primaries.
and especially in ohio. corruption and clean elections need to be hammered by both candidates.
it looks to me like these are both fine candidates. i am a cheapskate by nature, and wish there was a way around the cost. but we should be schooling people on the right way to campaign. respectful, and focused on issues.
primary fights are good for the party. and they are the only way to send the corporate dems packing. now is the time to clean up our own party. we have got to get these decisions out of the back room.

[yellowcanine]

24. That is ok. It is a myth that tough primaries hurt candidates. As long as

the winning candidate plays fair it can even help them (and even sometimes when they don't play fair - see G.W. Bush and John McCain, 2000)