Could a Blackwell loss sink DeWine as well?
2006-09-27
Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer
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rss feedRepublican Ken Blackwell is running for governor, but he also may loom large in one of the nation's hottest Senate races.
Observers, both partisan and not, say that if Blackwell's double-digit deficit in the polls turns into a thrashing on Election Day, it may hurt Republican incumbent Mike DeWine in his bid to fend off Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown. Polls show the Senate race in a dead heat.
Independent analysts say ideology and anti-Republican backlash probably won't hurt DeWine as much as low turnout will if dispirited Republican voters decide to stay home.
"He still has to work at getting the vote out," said Jennifer Duffy, who studies gubernatorial and Senate elections as an editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "Governors' races are bigger drivers in getting voters out than Senate races. There's a lot more work that goes into not getting caught in the undertow."
Ohio Republican Chairman Bob Bennett predicted that Blackwell will close the gap in the governor's race. He said rank-and-file Republicans are not about to give up.
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