YOUNGSTOWN Ney attacks Hagan in 3-page letter to supporters

By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- U.S. Rep. Bob Ney is attacking state Sen. Robert F. Hagan, his would-be Democratic opponent, in a letter to supporters describing the Youngstown politician as the "quintessential liberal" and as a puppet of U.S. Sens. Edward Kennedy and Hillary Clinton.
The three-page letter, signed by Ney and sent by his re-election committee, was mailed to supporters earlier this week. It portrays the five-term Republican incumbent from St. Clairsville as the underdog against Hagan.
Ney, however, is chairman of the Committee on House Administration, a deputy majority whip, and has $311,377 in his campaign fund as of Sept. 30. That's more than a year before the November 2004 election, when he would be seeking another term in Congress.
Leaning against it
If Hagan runs -- and he says he's leaning against challenging Ney -- he hopes to raise at least $400,000 for the campaign. That amount would be less than half of what Ney spent on his re-election in 2000, the last time he faced Democratic opposition, and $250,000 less than Ney spent last year on his campaign when he had no general election opponent.
"It will be difficult to beat Robert Hagan with the entire Democratic leadership and all the liberal special interests supporting his campaign," Ney, R-18th, wrote in the letter.
Included in the letter is a campaign contribution request that supporters are supposed to return to Ney with checks. "I don't want Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy and the rest of the liberal Democratic leadership choosing who my representative in Congress will be. You can count on me to support you against their hand-picked candidate, liberal state Sen. Robert Hagan," the letter says.
Hagan laughed when a reporter read him the letter.
"It's obvious they're afraid of me by putting out this letter," said Hagan, D-33rd. "It's almost like he's goading me into running against him. I'm shocked by this. He's insecure enough to go after me even before I decide to run."
Hagan told The Vindicator last month that he was considering a run next year for Ney's seat in the 18th Congressional District, a sprawling, Republican-leaning, rural district that is between 50 miles and 250 miles from the state senator's home in Youngstown.
Demographics problem
Hagan said Friday that the demographics of the district make it very difficult to beat Ney, and that he is leaning toward not challenging the Republican. But after hearing the letter, Hagan said his ego may push him into running against Ney.
Hagan said he would prefer to run in a district that is more Democratic and closer to his home, such as the 17th or 6th Districts.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles holds the 17th District seat, and he is expected to hold it for years to come. U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland of Lisbon holds the 6th District seat, and there is talk that he may opt to run for a statewide office in 2006, thus opening that spot at that time.
skolnick@vindy.com