Free Republic

Republicans maintained control of both congressional seats that were up for grabs in special elections Tuesday in Ohio and Virginia, disappointing Democrats who had hoped to extend their gains in the House. In Ohio, a state representative defeated a Democrat making her third run for the seat. And in Virginia, a first-term state legislator easily won. Both elections were to fill seats left vacant by deaths. Jo Ann Davis, who had represented a southeastern Virginia district for seven years, died of breast cancer in October. Rep. Paul Gillmor, first elected in a northwest Ohio district in 1988, died in a...

Had the Republicans lost their two special election contests to replace deceased GOP House members, one would see the papers filled with analyses of the coming debacle for Republican hopes in 2008. Now that they have won both handily, expect most to either ignore the races altogether or chalk up the wins to local Republican strength. However, pundits cannot easily dismiss the lessons from the race in Ohio: Republicans retained two House seats in special elections Tuesday, including a hotly contested Ohio race that the two parties spent nearly $700,000 trying to win. ... State legislator Bob Latta decisively defeated...

TOLEDO, Ohio — A Republican state lawmaker won a special congressional election Tuesday, hanging onto to a conservative district despite a strong push by Democrats. Union-backed groups and Democrats were hoping to steal the seat from the GOP and make a big statement going into the 2008 election in Ohio, which is expected to again have a significant role in determining the next president. Republican Bob Latta defeated Robin Weirauch to complete the term of U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor who died in September from a fall at his Washington apartment. Latta, the son of a former Ohio congressman, had 55...

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=7483075 TOLEDO (AP) — Republican state representative Bob Latta has been elected to fill a vacant congressional seat in northwest Ohio. The Associated Press called the race for Latta just before 9 p.m. With 65 percent of precincts reporting, Latta had 56 percent of the vote, compared to 44 percent for Democratic candidate Robin Weirauch. Latta will replace the late Paul Gillmor, who died in September from a fall at his Washington apartment. Latta’s father, Delbert, held the conservative and traditionally Republican 5th district seat from 1959 until 1989. The 51-year-old Latta won the GOP nomination November 6th following a...

Little more than a week after he was reported to be lagging behind in the polls, State Sen. Steve Buehrer is reporting a lead in the race for the U.S. House of Representatives. Club for Growth, a Washington D.C-based political action committee announced the results of a poll yesterday. It shows Buehrer with a three-percentage point lead over his closest rival in the Republican primary for the 5th district congressional special election, State Rep. Bob Latta. The poll, conducted by the Washington-based Basswood Research, surveyed 300 likely Republican primary voters in the 5th district over the weekend and found that...

Washington – Today, the Club for Growth PAC endorsed Republican State Senator Steve Buehrer in the special election for Ohio’s fifth congressional district. Since his election to the Ohio State House in 1998, Senator Buehrer has demonstrated a pro-growth record steeped in principle and courage. In 2003, he voted against Republican Governor Bob Taft’s budget, which included the largest tax hike in state history and a 10% increase in spending. Even though Buehrer suffered retaliation from his Republican colleagues for his 2003 stand, he didn’t waver two years later, opposing the second largest tax hike in Ohio history in 2005....