14TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Unusual group of candidates crowds the ballot for primary

Two people with Mahoning Valley ties are in the race.
SOLON, Ohio (AP) -- As a Democrat, Herb Hammer doesn't think President Bush should have provided a tax cut for wealthy Americans.
As a wealthy American, Hammer is spending his tax cut to run for Congress and unseat one of the Republicans that voted to give it to him.
Hammer is one of five Democrats seeking a nomination in the 14th District.
Spending own money
The race features two candidates, Hammer and Capri Cafaro, who are spending thousands of their own dollars for the chance to run against U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette in November. The fifth-term congressman is unopposed in the primary.
The district includes all of Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties and parts of Trumbull, Cuyahoga, Summit and Portage counties.
Cafaro, 26, has contributed more than $172,000 of her own money to her campaign, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
"It's worth it to me to make that investment so we can get our message out there," she said after a campaign stop Wednesday at a senior center in suburban Cleveland.
Cafaro, who graduated from Stanford at 19, said job creation and affordable health care coverage are key issues for her.
She is the daughter of J.J. Cafaro and an heir to the Youngstown-based Cafaro Co. shopping center empire. J.J. Cafaro was sentenced to probation in 2002 in the bribery scandal that landed former U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. in a federal prison in Pennsylvania.
Self-made
Hammer, 69, is a self-made millionaire, who started as a salesman for insulation products manufacturer GLT Products and is now president and CEO.
He has contributed $190,000 of his own money to his campaign. The Korean War veteran said he wants to protect veterans' benefits and create jobs in Northeast Ohio.
William Binning, who chairs the political science department at Youngstown State University, said Cafaro and Hammer are spending an unusual amount just to face an incumbent that won re-election in 2000 with 69 percent of the vote in a Republican district.
"That's a lot of money if it's a party-dominated seat," Binning said. "Odds are they are not going to win."
First campaigns
The primary marks the first political campaign for Hammer, Cafaro and Charles Wolfe, an active-duty Marine working at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna.
Solon resident Dale Blanchard, a certified public accountant, is making another attempt to beat LaTourette after losing to him in 2000. It's his fifth run for Congress.
The only 14th District candidate who has held political office is state Rep. Ed Jerse of Euclid, who must leave the seat because of term limits.