Free Republic

(snip) Whitman is representative of an emerging Republican type — what you might call the austerity caucus. Flamboyant performers like Sarah Palin get all the attention, but the governing soul of the party is to be found in statehouses where a loose confederation of uber-wonks have become militant budget balancers. Just as welfare reformers of the 1990s presaged compassionate conservatism, so the austerity brigades presage the national party's next chapter. Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana who I think is most likely to win the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, is the spiritual leader. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey...

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats in Ohio's three largest counties have asked for absentee ballots this year -- an ominous sign for the party hoping to repel GOP forces on Election Day. Roughly three out of 10 registered Ohio voters live in Franklin, Hamilton and Cuyahoga counties.

Republican Rob Portman now earns his highest level of support to date against Democrat Lee Fisher in the U.S. Senate race in Ohio.

Republican candidates have grabbed double-digit leads in the races for governor and the U.S. Senate, and the swelling red tide could lead to a GOP sweep of statewide offices, the first Dispatch Poll of the 2010 campaign shows. With voter enthusiasm running nearly three times higher among Republicans than Democrats, GOP gubernatorial candidate John Kasich leads by 12 points over Gov. Ted Strickland while GOP Senate hopeful Rob Portman tops Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher by 13 points. "I am enthusiastic about the upcoming election because it will kick out many of the incumbents," said survey participant Aivars Vimba, 70, a...

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of likely voters in Ohio's Senate race shows Republican Rob Portman picking up 45 percent support, while his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, earns the vote from 37 percent. Five percent prefer a different candidate, and 13 percent are undecided. In every survey conducted this year, Portman’s support has stayed in the very narrow range of 42 percent to 45 percent of the vote. For Fisher, this survey represents his lowest level of support since regular tracking of the race began in February. Prior to this latest poll, his support had ranged...

Ohio Republican Rob Portman holds a narrow lead over Democrat Lee Fisher in a Senate race marked by voter worries about a stumbling economy and high unemployment, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday. Portman, director of the Office of Budget and Management and the U.S. Trade Representative under former President George W. Bush, leads Fisher 43 percent to 36 percent among likely voters less than three months before the November 2 election for the open Senate seat. In the race for governor, Republican challenger John Kasich leads incumbent Democrat Ted Strickland by 48 percent to 39 percent among...

WASHINGTON – Democratic Senate candidate Lee Fisher faces a daunting 9-to-1 disadvantage in fundraising in his campaign against Republican Rob Portman in Ohio and has endured unexpected staff turnover, developments that have spread concern among national party leaders about his ability to remain competitive in the race. Fisher, the state's lieutenant governor, recently hired his third campaign manager while his campaign spokesman and researcher quit. Sluggish fundraising has left him badly trailing Portman, a veteran of President George W. Bush's White House and Cabinet. The Republican reported almost $8.9 million in his campaign account at the end of June; Fisher...

Despite a favorable electoral climate for Republicans and former Rep. Rob Portman's huge funding advantage over his Democratic opponent in the contest for Ohio's U.S. Senate seat, polls show the race in a dead heat. Conservatives and "tea party" activists say Mr. Portman's record as a moderate Republican has failed to fire up not only core GOP voters but also what may prove just as important to victory - the "tea party" movement. Complicating the picture is the failure of that movement to meet expectations in some of the May 4 Ohio GOP primary elections. Mr. Portman's resume, though extensive,...

There is a shirtless–and somewhat disconcerting–trend forming in the Ohio Senate election. Senate Republicans struck first last week by using a bare-chested image of Democratic Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher in a provocative Web ad on a new site hosted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee attacking Fisher.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer died unexpectedly Friday at age 70, the Supreme Court of Ohio has announced. He’s survived by his wife, Mary, and their children. The Chief Justice had been experiencing health problems, but they were not thought to be life threatening, a media release from the Supreme Court of Ohio stated. He was admitted to Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus late Thursday morning. He was pronounced dead at approximately 4 p.m. Friday. Moyer held the distinction of being the longest-serving state chief justice in the U.S. He's also a noted Ohioan.

While the Ohio governor’s race is now a virtual tie, there’s been little movement again this month in the state’s contest for the U.S. Senate. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Ohio finds Republican Rob Portman still slightly ahead of his two chief Democratic rivals, Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. The battle is over the seat now held by retiring GOP Senator George Voinovich. Portman leads Fisher 43% to 38%, with 14% of voters still undecided. Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate. The former GOP congressman posts a 45% to...

The new survey of Ohio by Public Policy Polling (D) gives Republican Senate candidate Rob Portman a narrow lead in the race for the open seat of retiring GOP Sen. George Voinovich. But more importantly, a lot will ultimately ride on President Obama's popularity or lack thereof in November -- and as of right now, Obama is not doing too well in Ohio. The poll of registered voters finds that Portman, a former Congressman and ex-Bush administration official, leads Democratic Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher by 41%-36%, and has a statistically insignificant edge of 38%-37% over Dem Secretary of State Jennifer...

Ganley out of Senate race Republican Tom Ganley is expected to quit his race for the U.S. Senate and will run instead against Democratic U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton of Akron. Sources with knowledge about Ganley's plans said he will make a statement on Thursday. The Ganley campaign declined to comment. Ganley, a millionaire Cleveland-area car dealer, had been expected to file candidacy petitions tomorrow to challenge former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman of Cincinnati. But even though Ganley had vowed to use his personal wealth in a primary, he faced an uphill fight against Portman, who has $6 million on hand...

Republican candidate Rob Portman outdid Democrat Lee Fisher, as well as all other candidates, in fundraising for his campaign for the U.S. Senate. Reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission showed Portman raising $7.6 million last year and still had $6 million in the bank at the end of the year. His closest GOP challenger was business owner Thomas Ganley with $1.3 million. Current Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher reported $3.3 million in fundraising and $1.8 million on hand. His opponent, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, raised $677,658 and has just $60,859 left. Portman received contributions of $10,000 each...

Cleveland automobile dealer Tom Ganley (R) is airing a statewide television ad to introduce himself to the primary voters who will decide whether he or former Rep. Rob Portman should be the party’s nominee in a key open-seat Senate race next year. The 60-second ad touts Ganley’s business background and takes an anti-Washington tone, with a narrator saying that Ganley’s 47-year career of creating jobs and balancing budgets amounts to “hard work the Washington politicians don’t understand.” Ganley speaks only at the end of the ad, in a required disclaimer approving the commercial. “To help create jobs for Ohio, Tom...

Earlier this year, many Ohioans (especially in the northern part of the state) heard the name "Rob Portman" and said, "Who?" Now some are saying, "Rob Portman, next U.S. senator from the great state of Ohio." It is way too early to predict winners and losers in next November's election. But Portman has scored a symbolic victory by surging ahead in the latest Quinnipiac University political poll of registered voters in Ohio. If the election were held today, Portman would get 39 percent of the vote to Lee Fisher's 36 percent.

"I think it's kind of an exciting time. I mean, everyone is cutting back. It's happening in every industry - including our own.”

Next year’s U.S. Senate race in Ohio is a neck-and-neck battle for Republican Rob Portman no matter which Democratic candidate he faces, according to the first Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 survey in the state. Portman is in a virtual tie with Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher 41% to 40%. Six percent (6%) of Ohio voters favor some other candidate, and 14% are undecided. The former GOP congressman is also essentially even with Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, leading by a similarly insignificant 40% to 38% margin. Five percent (5%) prefer another candidate. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure how they...

Ohio, a traditional bellwether state, will take center stage once again to gauge how the two major parties will fare in 2010, a year Republicans are hoping to make gains in statehouses and congressional seats across the country. Republicans are looking to defeat Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland with the help of former congressman and Fox News host John Kasich, and win an edge in congressional redistricting in the process. The Republicans are also playing defense in the state, however, hoping to hold onto the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. George Voinovich — a moderate Republican representing a state that...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's SarahPAC has donated money to the campaigns of Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Orrin Hatch of Utah, as well as to Republican Ohio Senate candidate Rob Portman, according to a Friday filing with the Federal Election Commission. The exact amounts of the contributions were not reported, but Palin had to list the names of candidates she had financially supported to make SarahPAC a bona fide political action committee. Her contributions to Arizona Sen. John McCain, for whom she served as a running mate in the 2008 presidential campaign, and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski...