Free Republic

EXCLUSIVE — A group of 12 prominent conservatives, including a former governor, media executives, and a former U.S. attorney general, have issued a letter calling for Nikki Haley to drop out of the race for president. The former U.N. ambassador is the last remaining GOP opponent in former President Donald Trump‘s quest to win a nonconsecutive second term in the White House. She has vowed to remain in the race and is continuing to raise money, but the group argues she is only damaging her party. “While you have waged a spirited campaign for the 2024 Republican Party nomination, it...

Today there are only 68 more days till the GOP Primary Elections on May 2, and political insiders just can't stop talking about that Evans-Novak Political Report that declared revered Congressman Bob McEwen the frontrunner.

Yesterday, February 18, Ken Blackwell and running mate Tom Raga attended the Northeast Hamilton County Republican Club's pancake breakfast. It was hosted in the Sharonville Convention Center and more than 200 Hamilton County Republicans attended. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that with a vote of 103 to 57 (64% to 36%), Ken Blackwell won a straw poll over opponent Jim Petro (who currently under investigation by the FBI for allegedly selling contracts for campaign donations).

So Many Faces,So Little Birdshot Ever since Dick Cheney shot his 78-year-old friend in the face with a shotgun, the news media everywhere has been totally obsessed with that story. Even hereabouts, our local Kneepad Liberals in the Press seemed similarly obsessed. With only 75 more days till our May 2 Primary Elections in Ohio, reporters were asking if "Mean Jean" Schmidt had ever shot a friend in the face. Maybe they should be asking if Her Meanness ever had a friend. When "TaxKiller Tom" Brinkman made his surprise announcement yesterday at Hamilton County GOP Headquarters that he planned to...

Former Congressman's Political Ad Stirs Up Controversy Title Precedes Candidate's Name 7 Times In Flier POSTED: 5:42 pm EDT June 1, 2005 UPDATED: 7:01 pm EDT June 1, 2005 CINCINNATI -- Now that Rep. Rob Portman of Cincinnati has assumed the Cabinet post of U.S. trade representative, the list of candidates for his Second District congressional seat is growing. But there is concern that one of the better-known contenders may have gone too far in reminding voters of his accomplishments. The problem isn't just with TV and radio advertisements. In a flier, Bob McEwen calls himself "congressman" seven times. McEwen...

Conservative pioneer Paul Weyrich has endorsed Bob McEwen for Congress in Ohio’s 2nd District. One of Weyrich’s key points is that McEwen, because of his twelve previous years in Congress, “can hit the ground running due to his previous service (i.e., he will have 12 years of seniority starting on Day 1 of his new term). Everyone else will be number 435.” That’s a legitimate argument one can bring to the table. McEwen will leapfrog 200-plus Members (just a wild guess; the number could be much higher) with less than 12 years in the House. Even the Congressman who defeated...

Previously, I have criticized Paul Weyrich's endorsement of Bob McEwen here in detail and here for his (Weyrich's) inconsistency on term limits. There is a larger topic here, and that is the propriety of such endorsements in a race of this nature. There is a place for outsider endorsements in politics, but this race isn't it, and I'll explain why.Outsider endorsements can pass the smell test in two situations: The first is if there are only a few candidates involved, and there is a clear philosophical divide between those few candidates. The outsider can claim that they know the person...

This thread links to a blogpost which in turn excerpts a post-mortem column on the 1993 special primary election for the 2nd District (OH) Congressional seat. On the GOP side, Rob Portman won. Bob McEwen, who had lost in the Sixth District race in November 1992 under the cloud of the House Bank Scandal and extensive (and expensive) travel tastes, moved into the second district when the seat was vacated by the retiring Willis Gradison, and finished a somewhat-distant second.

Note: The following conversation was relayed to BizzyBlog by a high-tech fly on the wall.The scene: Bob McEwen and his wife Liz are meeting with campaign manager Nonita Via. Bob has a lot of ideas about places to visit. _____________ Nonita Via: Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. McEwen. Bob McEwen: Good morning, Nonita. We've been campaigning here for two whole months now, and we've gotten to know the people of this district very well. In that spirit, you can start calling us Bob and Liz, and we'll call you NV. Boy, Liz and I can't wait to get out there...

In an effort to make sure the "sin'' of the father isn't visited on the son, Republican candidate Pat DeWine made it clear Thursday he doesn't approve of the role his father, Sen. Mike DeWine, played this week in brokering a deal with Senate Democrats over judicial filibusters. "I wouldn't have voted the way he did,'' the Hamilton County commissioner said Thursday. "If a person is appointed to the federal bench, he or she deserves an up-or-down vote.'' The elder DeWine was one of seven Senate Republican moderates who came together this week with seven Senate Democrats to hammer out...

Former Congressman Bob McEwen wants his old job back. Thursday McEwen announced his candidacy for the G.O.P. nomination to succeed newly-appointed Trade Representative Rob Portman as the representative for the heavily Republican 2nd Congressional District. Portman has been nominated by President Bush to become the next U.S. trade representative. As in 1993, when he lost to Portman in a primary, McEwen has had to buy a home in the district to establish residency. Observers view McEwen and Ohio state representative Tom Brinkman as vying for the support of social conservatives, who are not particularly happy with the perceived front-runner in...