Right On The Right

Ohio readers, and astute readers in general, will know that back before the Ohio Primary Cycle I made two big endorsements. I decided to endorse Kirk Schuring for Ohio's 16th and Paul Phillips for Ohio's 18th. Kirk won his Primary by a hair and Paul Phillips lost out to Fred Dailey, the former Secretary of Agriculture here in Ohio. Since then, boy have there been problems with the Schuring campaign. I haven't received one press release since the victory back in March, and sources close to the campaign say it has to do with a big internal shake-up. Whether it be staff-related or money-related, I know that bloggers are being left out in the cold. I'm not the only one. I did a quick search of Weapons of Mass Discussion, a site known for having all the campaign news, and the last mention of the Schuring race was the night after primary night! Can you say media blackout? Meanwhile, from the Dailey campaign, whom I didn't endorse...:

Mount Vernon, OH) – Fred Dailey, Republican candidate for Congress in Ohio's 18th District, praised the 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down the District of Columbia Gun Ban. This decision clearly protects the rights of U.S. citizens to bear arms.

"The Supreme Court made a common-sense ruling today to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms," Dailey said. "This decision affirms that our second amendment right is an individual right and that firearms will continue to be a part of the American culture. This decision also underscores the importance of having a Supreme Court that defends our constitutional rights instead of legislating from the bench."

And that's just one of about half a dozen press releases I've received from Dailey's camp. In all honesty, I thought Dailey would have a harder time reaching out to bloggers, but he obviously chose the staff to do it. Schuring has dropped the ball and is quickly losing the battle for blog coverage. I decided to investigate the Schuring problem, but the real problem is there's no one to talk to. It took me days of digging and all I've been told is the internal shake-up has left media advisories not being sent out to the blogosphere and staff unpaid. Stay classy Kirk, and good job to Dailey. ROTR endorses Fred Dailey for Ohio's 18th Congressional District, and I am left baffled by the events coming out of Schuring's HQ in Canton.

I backed several horses in several races last night, and one of them, Kirk Schuring, managed to win his primary. He'll be the GOP standard-bearer in an important contest come November, in a district where the Dems believe they can create a fight. The Hill has the results:

Schuring, who had the endorsement of outgoing Rep. Ralph Regula (R), was the favorite heading into Tuesday’s voting. However, he trailed Miller much of the night and did not clinch the victory until after he got a bump Wednesday morning when results from his base put him at 32,503 votes to Miller’s 28,989, with 100 percent of precincts reporting.

Schuring will face state Sen. John Boccieri (D), who won his primary 64-36, in a general election race that could turn into a battleground.

This isn't a race that could turn into a battleground. This is a race that will turn into a battleground. The Democrats are dumping tons of resources into OH-16, and they'll continue to do so as long as they believe it's winnable. We have a battle folks.

Paul Phillips did well in ROTR polling, but came up short in his primary battle today. Internal polling showed Chris Peden besting Congressman Ron Paul, but the news just came in that Paul defeated Peden in the primary for TX-14. The problem is name recognition during a national election. I firmly believe that many voters went to the polls and cast a vote for the familiar, and in TX-14, that meant an incumbent. In OH-18, that meant a man who spent years upon years serving the country, in a wide variety of different roles. I'll chalk this up as a lesson to me when analyzing primaries this cycle and in cycles onward. I'm calling it the Phillips-Peden Conundrum.

I've been extensively covering Ohio's 18th for the past few weeks, focusing on the race for the Republican nomination. Obviously, I didn't get a true sense of what the voters were thinking on the ground, because the two candidates that had extensive blog outreach programs ended up being bested by a man with years upon years of experience. Fred Dailey has won the Republican nomination for that district. My source says Paul Phillips has already conceded. Dailey will face Space in the General, and I hate to say that he's not as strong of a candidate as we could've chosen. I'll be updating my readership on other races as things develop.

Jeanette Moll is counting on the female vote in the 18th district, and it's a running theme of her campaign. She released that some prominent women would be stumping for her on the campaign trail. The release said the following:

ZANESVILLE, OHIO 2/25/08 - Conservative Republican Jeanette Moll will receive an infusion of support from a couple Ohio political leaders this week.

Former State Senator Grace Drake and current Senator Joy Padgett will headline an event for Moll on Saturday, March 1 in Zanesville.

Was this really an infusion of support? Not precisely. Joy Padgett hasn't endorsed Jeanette Moll, though Moll has said otherwise, and while she did attend the Moll event, she didn't as an open supporter of Jeanette. Also, the event had very limited attendence. How limited? My sources say single digits. The dance continues. CQ Politics ran a story that touted a Padgett-Moll endorsement. It's since been updated with this:

Clarification
Padgett told CQ Politics Monday that her appearance at a Moll campaign event on March 1 should not be construed as an endorsement of Moll. Padgett said that Dailey, Phillips or Moll would give Space a strong challenge and that she hasn't endorsed anyone.

It's pretty clear to me that Jeanette's openly touting support she doesn't have to get female voters on her side. She's almost dependent upon them, and the ROTR Polling that I cited before had some interesting demographics breakdowns. 82% of Moll's supporters were women, while Phillips and Dailey each enjoyed a more even split. Jeanette's risking her credibility in trying to court the female vote, and it just might backfire tomorrow.