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Gov. Taft and State GOP Woes, Not Iraq, Made Ohio a Tight Race by John Gizzi Human Events Online To believe the national media, the election for the open U.S. House seat in Ohio's 2nd District on Tuesday was nearly won by a Democrat because of mounting opposition to the U.S. presence in Iraq. Republican Jean Schmidt, former state legislator, barely clung to the most Republican congressional district in the Buckeye State by a margin of 4,000 votes, or 52% to 48%, over Democrat and Marine reserve officer Paul Hackett. In a race that drew national attention because of Hackett's...

Progressive_Conscience (1,000+ posts) Has everyone heard the results of the Hackett race? I'm so excited!!! Young_Anarchist (548 posts) Paul Hackett won? That's great! Progressive_Conscience (1,000+ posts) No, he lost, but he only lost by 4%! You know what this means for 2006, don't you? Young_Anarchist (548 posts) That we're going to lose in 2006? Progressive_Conscience (1,000+ posts) No, you idiot! It means we're going to win, and we're going to win big! Regime_ChangeUSA (1,000+ posts) Man, I bet the rethugs are sh*tting bricks right now! Kucinich4Pres (875 posts) It's like Christmas came early! Regime_ChangeUSA (1,000+ posts) Great. Why not just...

Failed Ohio Democratic congressional candidate Paul Hackett spent part of the day of the special election resting at home and attended a Bruce Springsteen concert election eve rather than pounding the pavement for last minute votes reports Michael Crowley in The New Republic.In contrast, Hackett's opponent, Republican Jean Schmidt, made the rounds encouraging voters to support her in the election to replace Republican Rob Portman, who was appointed by President Bush to be U.S. Trade Representative.Hackett, who appeared to have been trying to emulate Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry's losing presidential campaign by constantly reminding people that he had served...

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich warned fellow Republicans to pay special heed to the GOP’s narrow victory in the August 2 special election in Ohio. Democrat Paul Hackett, an Iraq war veteran and critic of President Bush’s Iraq policy, came just 3,573 votes short of upsetting Republican Jean Schmidt in a solidly GOP congressional district in southwestern Ohio, according to unofficial returns. The two competed to fill the vacancy created when Republican Rep. Bob Portman resigned to become U.S. trade representative. Schmidt had been heavily favored in a district that has been in Republican hands for nearly 40 years, the...

On Tuesday night a Democrat running in a Republican district nearly became the first Iraq-war veteran elected to Congress. The two traded leads throughout the evening in a surprisingly close finish. In the end, heavily favored Republican Jean Schmidt edged out Democrat Paul Hackett by a narrow margin of 52 to 48 percent. Schmidt finally pulled away as the votes were tabulated by hand in her home county after severe humidity prevented them from being counted by machine. Liberal activists, particularly bloggers, did the heavy lifting for their candidate who only last week referred to President Bush as a "son-of-a-bitch."...

Paul Hackett added his voice to the chorus of Democrats claiming his Tuesday night election loss in Ohio is a barometer for improved Democrat electoral prospects in 2006. In an email to supporters through the Democracy for America website founded by Howard Dean, Hackett wrote: We have the power to win back Congress. Yesterday proved it. Yesterday, one of the reddest regions in America turned a whole lot bluer.

Dear Chuck, Your mandate to fight everywhere had its first test last night. Marine Major Paul Hackett ran for Congress in a special election in the most Republican district in Ohio. Republicans vowed to "bury" him, pundits wrote him off, and the conventional wisdom asked why Democrats would even bother to put up a fight. But then something happened. With the infrastructure of local organizers we're building in Ohio and every other state, the most Republican district in Ohio became the most competitive district in Ohio -- a district where Bush won in 2004 by a margin of two to...

Following is House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi's statement on the special election in Ohio's second congressional district: "Paul Hackett is a war hero who campaigned with the same dignity and honor that he served our country. Paul ran an excellent campaign and made what should have been an easy Republican win a tough contested race. "The issues, political, and ethics environment are good for Democrats and Paul Hackett's campaign in a Republican district proves it. "Republicans are on notice -- Americans are demanding a change. Americans will no longer tolerate the Republicans' continued abuses of power and catering to corporate...

Kevin Hackett, Democrat candidate for Congress in Ohio’s Second Congressional District wildly over-performed in his attempt to win yesterday’s special election against Republican Jean Schmidt. Hackett earned 48% of the vote in this heavily Republican district, which George W. Bush won in 2000 with 63% and in which he performed even stronger in 2004. Lefty blogs – who helped fuel Hackett’s coffers with small dollar donations – are celebrating another “almost win.” And, of course, they are again playing the victim card. Here’s John Nichols blogging for The Nation: Remarkably, in a district that favored George W. Bush over John...

The DUmmies are complaining about an election stolen in Ohio. No, I’m not talking about the Presidential election results in Ohio of last November. I am referring to the congressional election last night of a Republican from a heavily Republican district. Therefore it is NO surprise that Republican Jean Schmidt won over Democrat (although he pretended he wasn’t) Paul Hackett. However, I knew for at least a week that I would be doing a DUmmie FUnnies edition the morning following the election about outraged DUmmies claiming vote fraud AGAIN in Ohio as you can see in this THREAD titled,...

Democrats on Wednesday celebrated a closer-than-expected loss in a special House of Representatives race in Ohio and called it a warning sign for Republicans entering the 2006 congressional elections. But Republicans cautioned against reading too much into Jean Schmidt's narrow win over Democrat and Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett, saying low turnout and local issues made the race unique and kept it from being a bellwether on Republican leadership or President Bush. Schmidt, a former state representative, beat Hackett by 3,500 votes out of more than 112,000 cast in the conservative and heavily Republican district, where no Democrat in decades...

Dems Brand Ohio Loss as ‘Shockwave of Voter Discontent’ By Randy Hall CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor August 03, 2005 (CNSNews.com) - Even though Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett lost Tuesday's special congressional election to GOP candidate Jean Schmidt 52 to 48 percent, Democratic leaders were delighted with the results, calling their Ohio loss "a shockwave of voter discontent." A Republican spokesman had a brief response: "We won." "This election is a shockwave of voter discontent that will be felt all across the country," said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel in a press release. "Every Republican in Congress should consider...

Iraq War Veteran in Ohio Sought Open House Seat CINCINNATI, Aug. 2 -- A Republican former state lawmaker claimed a seat in Congress on Tuesday by narrowly defeating a veteran of the Iraq war who drew national attention to the race with his military service and harsh criticism of President Bush.With all precincts reporting, Jean Schmidt had 52 percent, or 57,974 votes, compared with Democrat Paul Hackett's 48 percent, or 54,401 votes. Schmidt's margin of victory was 3,573 votes out of 112,375 cast.

Republican Edges Out Iraq Veteran for Ohio Congress Seat By JAMES DAO Published: August 3, 2005 CINCINNATI, Aug 2 - A former Republican state legislator narrowly won a special Congressional election in southern Ohio on Tuesday, ending an underdog bid by her Democratic opponent to become the first combat veteran from the Iraq war to serve in Congress. With all of the precincts reporting, Jean Schmidt, the Republican, had nearly 52 percent of the vote, edging out her challenger, Paul L. Hackett, a major in the Marine Forces Reserve, by about 4,000 votes. "Voters declared that they support our president...

CINCINNATI -- A resume that includes military service in Iraq and harsh attacks on President George W. Bush wasn't enough to land Paul Hackett on Capitol Hill. The Iraq war veteran narrowly lost a bid to win a special congressional election in Ohio. Hackett was hoping to become the first veteran of the Iraq war elected to Congress. Republican Jean Schmidt beat Hackett and will replace Rob Portman, who left Congress this year after being named U.S. trade representative by Bush. Schmidt is a well-known, experienced Republican who headed the Cincinnati-area Right to Life. Hackett initially opposed the U.S. invasion...

CINCINNATI (Reuters) - Republicans narrowly held on to a vacant U.S. House of Representatives seat in Ohio on Tuesday, defeating a Democratic Iraq war veteran who had hammered away at President Bush and his Iraq policy. In the closely watched race, heavily favored Republican Jean Schmidt, 53, won by a 3 percent margin over personal injury lawyer Paul Hackett, who recently spent seven months as a Marine civil affairs officer in hot spots like Ramadi and Fallujah. The special election to replace Rob Portman, who resigned to become U.S. trade representative after easily winning six terms in the U.S. House...

Her party and so-called friends: 1. Schmidt's primary opponents, with rare exception, gave her lukewarm backing. Bob McEwen high-tailed it back to Virginia, Pat DeWine disappeared (okay, maybe that's just as well), and Tom Brinkman was invisible. I'm guessing a bit here--That disinterest by the primary losers extended to their folks on the ground, and is one reason why the national GOP had to shore things up in the final days. 2. The evangelicals (Dobson, Perkins, Wildmon, et al) who unethically supported Bob McEwen's parachute candidacy, even though there was little difference on their key "values" issues among the various...

Schmidt Narrowly Beats Hackett For CongressRepublican Jean Schmidt won the Greater Cincinnati vote and narrowly defeated Democrat Paul Hackett in a race for Congress that went down to the wire. Schmidt won the seat in the Ohio Second Congressional District by 52 percent to 48 percent, and Three Rivers, Edgewood and Franklin passed school levies in Tuesday night's special election. In the unofficial vote total, Schmidt defeated Hackett by 3,573 votes -- 57,954 to 54,401. Schmidt won the Greater Cincinnati vote, taking the east side of Hamilton County, southern Warren County and Clermont County. Hackett won the rural eastern counties...

Schmidt Wins 08/02 11:05 PM The local affiliate Fox 19 has just called the race for Jean Schmidt over Paul Hackett 52 to 48 percent. Many thanks to all The Buzz readers who helped keep all of us on breaking news side of this. And thanks to everyone who kept reading late tonight as well. The Channel 9 affiliate has called the race as well.

With 62 percent of precincts reporting, Republican Jean Schmidt had 51 percent, or 35,161 votes, to 49 percent for Democrat Paul Hackett, who had 34,175 votes. Schmidt's lead amounted to about 1,000 votes.