2006 Ohio gubernatorial campaign Ken Blackwell

1 2006 ohio gubernatorial campaign

1.1 campaign , national significance
1.2 conservative platform
1.3 may 2 primary
1.4 campaign finance
1.5 support religious groups
1.6 support pro-gun organizations

2006 ohio gubernatorial campaign

campaign , national significance

blackwell republican nominee governor of ohio in 2006. beat state attorney general jim petro in 2006 republican primary. (the current governor, republican bob taft, not run because of term limits.) blackwell s opponents in general election democratic congressman ted strickland, libertarian professor emeritus bill peirce , green bob fitrakis. blackwell chose ohio state representative tom raga running mate. blackwell first african-american nominated candidate ohio governorship either major political party.

there had been increased national attention on ability of republican party maintain control in ohio. on national level, new york times went far suggest results of election bellwether 2008 presidential election.

blackwell faced uphill battle; according broad survey reported plain dealer on april 30, 2006, ohio voters prefer see democrat occupy governor s mansion. still, had supporters. john stemberger, president , general counsel florida family policy council, quoted saying blackwell potentially president of united states someday, , first black president @ that. blackwell s campaign relied heavily on accusations ted strickland not resident of ohio, , later ted strickland gay. both of these accusations played heavily in campaign literature failed resonate ohio voters. due poor management of campaign, blackwell s ability compete on national stage called question.

on november 7, 2006 ted strickland elected governor, defeating blackwell 24% margin.

conservative platform

blackwell has taken conservative positions. in 2005, supported keeping terri schiavo on life support indefinitely, saying, think life sacred, no matter how painful. when asked on hardball chris matthews if keep on life support 30 years, blackwell said would.

in 2002 campaign re-election post of secretary of state, blackwell took position favor abortions in case life of mother @ stake. has since taken more conservative position of opposing abortions in case mother s life @ risk.

may 2 primary

blackwell won republican primary on may 2, 2006 against ohio attorney general jim petro 56% of vote. blackwell s strongest support came home town of cincinnati , of rural ohio. run primaries dominated critical television ads blackwell , opponent jim petro ran against 1 another.

blackwell criticized petro, declining engage in 3 planned debates had been organized dayton daily news , city club of cleveland. debate @ city club of cleveland occurred on april 25, 2006, despite blackwell s absence. event scheduled broadcast on public television around ohio. according columbus dispatch, blackwell said has shared plenty of forums petro , wants focus on talking republicans in final days of campaign.

on april 29, hamilton county democrats publicly demanded blackwell pull radio ads urged unregistered democrats ask republican primary ballots on may 2, 2006 (rather issues-only ballot unregistered voters get), , thereby become registered republicans. democrats argued ads using illegal , unethical political tactics.

campaign finance

during primary, blackwell led republican candidates in ability raise significant amounts of money campaign. raised $1.09 million between january 31, 2006, , april 12, 2006, approximately 12,000 individuals , businesses. $800,000 more main competition, jim petro, less $1.1 million raised main democratic competition, ted strickland. blackwell, along 14 other candidates, (including petro , strickland) accused ohio citizen action group of failing meet ohio s campaign contribution law requires best efforts disclose names, addresses, employment status, employer, , place of employment of individuals donate $100 or more political campaign. blackwell, petro, , strickland received b letter grade group levels of disclosure.

on april 16, 2006, toledo blade reported blackwell had accepted more $1 million in campaign contributions employees of firms seeking business statewide offices s held on past 12 years. furthermore, same organizations donated $1.34 million ohio republican party, $1.29 million of forwarded directly blackwell s campaign fund. several of firms have been awarded contracts blackwell s office have been hired on gubernatorial campaign. investigators argue suggestion of quid pro quo based on actions of contributors raise issue of serious conflict of interest. petro has responded demanding law bans political contributors being awarded state contracts. blackwell has stated no illegal activity took place. in response petro s call reform, blackwell stated: if asking me ... advocating campaign spending limits? no. never have. never will.

after winning respective primaries, both blackwell , democratic opponent able raise record sums, in part because of national attention paid race. of september 9, 2006, strickland led blackwell, $11.2 million $10 million.

support religious groups

blackwell had been supported many religious leaders in ohio both politically , financially; according campaign filings, blackwell had received $25,031 clergy , more 27 times as strickland.

however, on january 16, 2006, group of 31 pastors, led rev. eric williams, pastor of north congregational church (united church of christ) in columbus, ohio wrote 13-page letter irs alleging blackwell has enjoyed special treatment 2 ohio mega-churches, world harvest church , fairfield christian church. in letter, pastors accused 2 organizations of sponsoring @ least 9 events blackwell sole invited politician, partisan voter-registration drives, , distribution of biased voting guides. rev. russell johnson, pastor of fairfield christian church in lancaster, ohio defended actions saying event in question not meet candidate forum, rather giving blackwell award courageous leadership. blackwell later called group of 31 pastors bullies.

on april 19, 2006, e-mails sent on behalf of blackwell campaign johnson on easter sunday, april 16, 2006, came light in columbus dispatch. both blackwell campaign , russell johnson, on behalf of fairfield christian church, denied wrongdoing. e-mails in question subsequently emerged on various online media outlets, showing e-mails had been sent within johnson s church office on evening of easter sunday church personnel , employees of church-owned fairfield christian academy.

on may 7, 2006, members of lord of life lutheran church in columbus, ohio, publicly complained blackwell s campaign workers placed fliers on windshields of attending church service on april 30, 2 days before may 2 primary. church pastor, rev. jim wilson, stated tactic offensive , suggested church endorsing blackwell. wilson said had tried contact blackwell campaign in response incident did not satisfactory response. when questioned, blackwell s campaign said practice standard... republicans , democrats. >

on may 14, 2007, blackwell appointed senior fellow @ well-known conservative religious, political group family research council.

as organizations 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, not-for-profit organizations, explicitly barred campaigning for, endorsing candidates or becoming involved in activity beneficial or harmful candidate. johnson , rev. rod parsley, pastor of world harvest church have argued investigation politically motivated , violates constitutional right free speech. mark everson, commissioner of irs responded don t have automatic or constitutional right tax exemption, , s line has been drawn.

support pro-gun organizations

blackwell has earned rating national rifle association’s (nra) political victory fund. member of nra s board of directors. blackwell endorsed ohio gun collectors association, ohioans concealed carry , gun owners of america.

i unequivocally support second amendment right of every law-abiding ohioan keep , own firearms hunting, personal protection , other lawful purpose, said blackwell. proud receive nra’s highest rating , unflinching advocate gun owners governor.