Strickland moves on to face Blackwell in gubernatorial race

A Liberty state senator won the Democratic attorney general primary.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Two Mahoning Valley candidates easily won statewide Democratic primaries and are moving on to the November general election.
Both largely credited the Valley for the win.
U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland of Lisbon easily defeated ex-state Rep. Bryan Flannery of Strongsville in Tuesday's Democratic primary for governor, according to unofficial results.
With 82 percent of the vote reported, Strickland captured 80 percent of the vote. He will face Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell of Cincinnati, who won the Republican primary over Attorney General Jim Petro of Columbus.
"I'm very pleased with the victory," Strickland said. "I hope to just continue to do what I've been doing, and that's reaching out to people across this state."
While the general election is six months away, Strickland said he doesn't plan to take a break from the race.
Redistricting
A statewide redistricting plan, that took effect in 2003, drastically altered the look of Strickland's congressional district.
Instead of it being in south-central Ohio, it snakes along the Ohio River from Mahoning County to Scioto County for about 350 miles.
Strickland said representing Columbiana County and a portion of Mahoning allowed him to have solid name recognition in areas he had never before represented.
"I love the Valley," said Strickland, who moved from Lucasville in Scioto County to Lisbon in Columbiana County shortly after his 2003 congressional win. "I wouldn't have been able to run for governor had I not won here and received exposure to so many people."
The Valley responded in kind to Strickland on Tuesday.
According to unofficial results, Strickland received 88.2 percent of the vote in Mahoning, and 88.7 percent of the vote in Columbiana.
Also, Strickland received 82.1 percent of the Trumbull County vote.
Dann
State Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty also had an easy time in his victory over Subodh Chandra of Cleveland in the Democratic attorney general primary.
Dann received 74.3 percent of the statewide vote, according to unofficial results.
Dann received 89.1 percent of the vote in his home county of Trumbull.
Also, Dann received 88.1 percent of the vote in Mahoning County, and 87.8 percent of the vote in Columbiana County.
"The people respect the work I've done in state government, and they want me to do the same as attorney general," Dann said.
Dann said his victory is a testament to the Mahoning Valley because the voters there were his strongest supporters.
Dann will face state Auditor Betty Montgomery of Perrysburg, who easily won the Republican primary for attorney general, a position she formerly held.
Also, Judge William M. O'Neill of Chagrin Falls, who serves on the Warren-based 11th District Court of Appeals, defeated Judge A.J. Wagner of Dayton, a Montgomery County Common Pleas Court judge, in the Democratic primary for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court.
Judge O'Neill won the race despite not accepting campaign contributions and not seeking the Ohio Democratic Party endorsement.
Judge O'Neill will face Justice Terrence O'Donnell of Rocky River, who defeated him in 2004. Justice O'Donnell ran unopposed in Tuesday's Republican primary for re-election.
In a big upset, Ashtabula County Auditor Sandra O'Brien is the unofficial winner in the Republican primary for treasurer. With 91 percent of the vote in, O'Brien of Rome had 52 percent of the vote compared to 48 percent for Treasurer Jennette Bradley of Columbus.
O'Brien received 58.8 percent of vote in Trumbull County and 51.7 percent of the vote in Mahoning.
skolnick@vindy.com