DAVID SKOLNICK \ Politics Ohio Republicans seem to be in a mess

"It's a headache waiting to happen."
That's how Robert Bennett, Ohio Republican Party chairman, describes the 2006 state election.
It's an incredible understatement.
Many of the big-name Ohio Republicans have their sights set on the 2006 election, and don't seem terribly interested in helping President Bush win Ohio in November.
That doesn't mean they're ignoring Bush, but the president and his strong campaign team in the state are carrying most of the load in Ohio. Bush realizes he has to win Ohio to be re-elected and has visited the state often.
Ohio residents are financially supporting Bush to the tune of more than $6.6 million as of May 31. Of the 50 states, Ohio is sixth when it comes to raising money for Bush, trailing only Texas, California, Florida, New York and Virginia. Bush raised more in Ohio than in two larger states, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
As impressive as that is, it is equally unimpressive that Ohio, the seventh-largest state in the country, isn't in the top 10 for U.S. Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Also, Kerry hasn't raised even half of Bush's amount in the Buckeye State.
Ohio is considered a key battleground state in the presidential election.
But as I mentioned earlier, many Ohio Republicans are focused on 2006, and Bennett realizes that.
The Ohio Republican Party is ready to implode. While state Democratic officials talk a good game, they have yet to prove they can compete with the GOP in Ohio in years.
The three-way race to be the GOP gubernatorial candidate is already ugly. Bennett refers to it as "the war-dance stage ... before we go to battle, and it will increase between November and the fall of 2005."
Bennett said he expects the race to sort itself out, but that is highly doubtful.
The candidates -- Auditor Betty Montgomery, Attorney General Jim Petro and Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell -- don't give the impression that any of them will opt out of the gubernatorial race. They're waiting for the others to back out. It looks as though they're going to wait a long time.
During a recent interview, Gov. Bob Taft, who cannot run in 2006 for re-election because of the state's term limits law, said the three 2006 gubernatorial candidates as well as all Republicans should be focused now on getting Bush re-elected. There will be plenty of time to fight over the governor's office after the presidential election.
But that didn't stop Taft from taking a shot at Blackwell, who is attempting to repeal the state's 1-cent sales tax. Taft accused Blackwell and The Wall Street Journal editorial writers of being "in cahoots" to criticize the sales tax. He also said the well-respected national newspaper attacks anyone who imposes taxes "and they make up the rest of it from there."
In response, Blackwell said the governor broke a promise by imposing the tax, and he chose to attack the newspaper instead of fixing the state's financial problems. Blackwell said Taft is working to elect Petro.
That sure doesn't sound like two prominent Republicans united to re-elect Bush.
Add to this the investigations involving the Ohio House Republican caucus' campaign committee, overseen by Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, who is planning on running for auditor in 2006; and the office of Treasurer Joseph T. Deters, who's planning on an attorney general bid two years from now.
The state Republican Party appears to be in a state of disarray.
This is the Ohio Democratic Party's best opportunity to make inroads into state government in years. But party leaders appear more interested in praising and promoting talk-show host Jerry Springer, a major Democratic contributor. In an almost surreal moment, the party named Springer its Democrat of the Year recently.
Here's a bit of advice to the Dems: Focus on electing Kerry this year, and then supporting legitimate candidates such as U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman for 2006. Springer's trying to buy credibility, but he could spend millions between now and the end of time, and he'll still be seen as the king of trash TV, and not a legitimate politician.