Wilson is out of the race

A political expert said the dropped candidate should run as a write-in.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- What will Charles A. Wilson Jr. do now?
That's the unanswered question after the Columbiana County Board of Elections dropped the Democrat on Wednesday from the 6th Congressional District race.
Wilson had 46 valid signatures of voters on his petitions instead of the required 50 signatures.
An earlier count indicated Wilson had 48 valid signatures.
John Payne, the county elections board director, said Belmont County election officials found two additional invalid signatures Wednesday.
Even after being dropped, Wilson, a state senator, still insisted that he had enough.
After the election board's unanimous vote, Wilson issued a statement that said, "In good faith I submitted more than enough valid signatures to the board of elections, so I am obviously disappointed with this decision today. I am exploring a number of options and am confident that in November I will be on the ballot and I will win the privilege and responsibility of representing Ohio families in Congress."
Wilson representative Amanda Wurst said he will announce his next move later.
The elections board also rejected the petitions of Richard S. Holt, a Republican candidate for the 6th seat. Holt had 26 valid signatures. He was defeated in the 2004 general election for the 89th Ohio House District seat in southern Ohio.
The moves leave Democrats John Stephen Luchansky of Boardman and Bob Carr of Wellsville; and Republican State Rep. Charles Blasdel, Danny Harmon, Tim Ginter and Richard D. Stobbs in the congressional primary.
Blasdel's statement
Blasdel, the Republican front-runner, was not present but issued a statement that said, "I am pleased that the board of elections has certified me to run in the 6th Congressional District Republican primary. We're going to run an aggressive campaign to continue meeting the voters."
Blasdel's communication director Jessica R. Towhey said his campaign made sure there were enough valid signatures before the petitions were filed with the election board.
William Binning, Youngstown State University's political science chairman, attended the meeting. He's co-authoring a chapter on the 6th District race for an upcoming book, "The Roads to Congress."
Binning said the moral of Wilson's being dropped is "details matter."
The 6th District is one of about 10 of the most contested in the nation. The district elected a Republican president and a Democratic congressman.
Binning said Wilson should not go to court to challenge the election board's decision but instead run as a write-in.
With both parties looking for victory in the 6th District, Binning predicted cash will flow during the election.
After voting on the petitions, the elections board went into executive session to discuss personnel.
Payne, a Democrat, had initially advised Wilson's committee to withdraw the first petitions and file new ones. That's no longer allowed.
Payne also had indicated that he may be interested in an appointment to an unfilled term. State law prohibits elections officials from being candidates.
After the executive session, Jerry Ward, the Republican chairman of the elections board, said no action was taken.
wilkinson@vindy.com