Ohio Votes May 4
I am starting this overview considerably later than I had planned, so bear with me. We will go through all 18 of your Congressional Districts plus the Senate seat being vacated by George Voinovich, (R) who is retiring. I will try to give you the link to the candidate website and anything I feel you might want to pay special attention to.
I am not from Ohio, and I do not know all of your election laws; therefore, I will assume a primary for all political parties. I will also be ignoring Democrat incumbents and candidates since those are the ones that we Conservatives will be voting to kick out of office in November.
My job is to provide information for you – your job is to VOTE!
You should be electing a new Governor this year thanks to the Democrat incumbent Ted Strickland. There is only one Republican seeking election; John Kasich is running with Mary Taylor for Lieutenant Governor.
To start our overview, let us look first at the Senate race. There are one Republican, two Democrats, one Constitution Party, one Socialist Party, and five Independent challengers. That is quite a slate for you. For the sake of argument, I am going to assume that Ohio is smart enough to avoid allowing the Socialist to be elected. We have enough of them in Washington now. We do not need one more.
US SENATE – THE CANDIDATES
Rob Portman (R) – strong stance on abortion
Eric Deaton (C) – very thorough Issues Page. Endorsed by Liberty Candidates (Libertarians)
Eric LaMont Gregory (I) – in favor of Obamacare
Stephen Lahanas (I) – the only website I could find listing any of his ideas is a blog. That concerns me.
Dave Myers (I) – another blog for a website, but at least this one has a biography on it
William Pierce (I) – considers himself an ex-Republican
Adam Shaffer (I) – not a lot of ready information regarding his stance on the issues
US REPRESENTATIVE – THE CANDIDATES
Steve Driehaus (D) incumbent Dist 1
Steve Chabot (R) – nothing on his issues page, but some history on “About Steve”
Rich Stevenson (Green) – no website of his own, but I found a little information
Jim Berns (L) – the only info I could find is on a Libertarian page
Jared Croxton (L) – campaign site is a Facebook page
Jean Schmidt (R) incumbent Dist 2
Debbi Alsfelder (R) – not a lot on her issues page but every little bit helps
Mike Kilburn (R) – good information on his home page
Tim Martz (R) – interesting website – very plain. Legislative Agenda
Marc Johnston (L) – again stressing “Tea Party Activist” like that is supposed to win him votes from unknowing voters.
Mike Turner (R) incumbent Dist 3
Rene Oberer (R) – even though I can’t find proof, she sounds quite Libertarian to me
Jim Jordan (R) incumbent Dist 4
Don Kissick (L) – another Facebook candidate and “Tea Party Activist”
Bob Latta (R) incumbent Dist 5
Robert Wallis (R) – I can’t tell which website is his “official” website
Brian Smith (L) – I couldn’t find any information at all
Charlie Wilson (D) incumbent Dist 6
Donald Allen (R) – issues page is “tabbed” so you have to click on what you want to read
Bill Johnson (R) – believes in pink slips to non-functioning elected officials
Dick Stobbs (R) – Facebook was the only website I could get to display. The others referenced on my sources kept “timing out”
Richard Cadle (C) – another “Tea Party Activist”
Martin Elsass (L) – supported by Libertarians
Cory McCusker (L) – more firm against abortion than most Libertarians.
Steve Austria (R) incumbent Dist 7
John Mitchel (R) – weak on military and foreign policy
David Easton (C) – no information available
John Anderson (L) – soft on social conservatism
Chad Kreemer (I) – probably deserves more attention than he has most likely gotten.
John Boehner (R) incumbent Dist 8
Thomas F. McMasters (R) – intentionally doesn’t list issues on his website.. read the page linked to his name to see why.
Manfred Schreyer (R) – he doesn’t seem to care too much for Boehner
Marcy Kaptur (D) incumbent Dist 9
Rich Iott (R) – brief issues page; endorsed by Change the Congress in 2010
Jack Smith (R) – good issues page
Joseph Jaffe (L) – soft on social issues
Jeremy Swartz (L) – soft on social issues as all Libertarians are
Dennis Kucinich (D) incumbent Dist 10
Peter Corrigan (R) – Israel supporter but not firm enough on our devotion to promote freedom world-wide when necessary
W. Benjamin Franklin (R) – issues listed as separate links
Thomas Olschlager (R) – be sure to check out his “Not So Fun Facts” on the left side of his home page. Not much info on his issues page, but the picture DOES speak 1000 words.
Jeff Coggins (L) – did not respond to questionnaire sponsored by Cleveland.com
Marcia Fudge (D) incumbent Dist 11
This is horrible, Ohio. The only Republican running for this position is a “Liberty Republican.” That means he’s a RINO – a Libertarian running as a Republican! The Republicans are predominately anti-war, anti-military, and anti-government. They preach “personal freedoms,” but my personal freedoms will be stepped on at every turn if they get their liberal social policies enacted. The candidate is Matt Brakey, and the only web page I could find is on Facebook. It is titled, “Matt Brakey for County Council.”
Pat Tiberi (R) incumbent – Dist 12
Republican challenger Andrew Zukowski has more problems than a web page that won’t load as this article from April 20, 2010 reveals.
The other candidates are Libertarians, and I believe I’ve said enough about the Libertarians and their liberal social policies.
Betty Sutton (D) incumbent Dist 12
James Brihan (R) – the only information I can find about him is that he didn’t respond to the Cleveland.com candidate questionnaire.
Frank Chestney (R) – his “topics” page reveals a lack of real Conservative values.
Tom Ganley (R) – issues page does not cover many issues, but his statements are Conservative.
Bill Haney (R) – interesting arrangement for his issues page. He seems quite Conservative.
Jim Hrubik (R) – a Facebook page is his campaign web site. Check out the “Notes” section for his stance on the issues.
Jason Meade (R) – What exactly does it mean to be a “Tea Party Republican?”
Todd Sharkey (R) – an interesting 10-point plan, but be sure to check out ALL the issues.
Steve LaTourette (R) incumbent Dist 14
Three Democrats and a Libertarian challenger.
Mary Jo Kilroy (D) incumbent Dist 15
John Adams (R) – issues tabbed across the top of his web site.
Ralph Applegate (R) – no website or other information found, but he is a “frequent candidate.”
Charles Chope (R) – no website or other information found.
Steve Stivers (R) – doesn’t mention abortion on issues page, but other reading indicates he is pro-abortion.
David Ryon (C) – calls himself a “Ron Paul Activist” which translates to Libertarian. Endorsed by Liberty Candidates. Again that translates to Libertarian.
Scott Alan Hubbard (I) – I think I found his campaign website on Resistnet.com.
John Boccieri (D) incumbent Dist 16
Kevin Kapel (R) – I don’t consider this a very good campaign website.
Matt Miller (R) – two places you need to check out on his website – Guiding Principles and Issues
Tim Renacci (R) – issues are on separate tabs
Paul Schiffer (R) – Issues page sounds Libertarian in many instances.
H. Doyle Smith (R) – I am not really sure about his “modernized” 10 Commandments.
Tim Ryan (D) incumbent Dist 17
Jim Graham (R) – fairly blunt issues page.
M. E. “Bing” Henderson (R) – interesting presentation of his issues.
Jim Traficant (I) – I love this description of Mr. Traficant: “Ex-Congressman, Ex-Mahoning County Sheriff, Radio Talk Show Host & Felon”
Zack Space (D) incumbent Dist 18
Beau Bromberg (R) – I don’t have much appreciation for a “Tea Party Activist” – an Activist is an activist – but his issues page is fairly clear on the few issues he covers.
Fred Dailey (R) – forthright in his stance on the issues.
Dave Daubenmire (R) – issues on the front page.
Bob Gibbs (R) – I defer to your judgment here, but his issues page sounds Conservative.
Ron Hood (R) – comprehensive issues page
Hombre Liggett (R) – I appreciate his stance on the issues.
Jeanette Moll (R) – solid Conservative issues
Michael D. Royer (R) – if he isn’t a Libertarian, he certainly talks like one.
I told you this would be just a quick overview. I hope you will find something useful here. My two primary sources of information other than the candidates’ websites are USElections.com and Politics1.com.
Marie A Cole
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are not intended to represent the opinions of the Conservative Party – Ohio.
