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Will Clinton’s visit help?
On the side
Mother’s milk of politics: The amount of money political candidates spend to air television commercials can sometimes tell the tale of the race.
I wrote an article earlier this week about candidates, campaigns and outside special-interest groups spending $5.2 million to air more than 11,000 political commercials on the Mahoning Valley’s six local television network affiliates.
Here’s information on a couple of races not included in the article.
Rob Portman, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, spent $352,175 for commercials on the Valley’s network affiliates that started Oct. 8.
Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, his Democratic opponent who trails Portman by double-digits in most polls, hasn’t spent any money for commercials on Valley affiliates since his May primary victory.
In the attorney general’s race, Richard Cordray, the Democratic incumbent, has spent $186,195 on Valley network affiliates.
Mike DeWine, his Republican opponent, has spent $90,845, less than half of Cordray’s amount.
What impact will President Bill Clinton’s appearance at a Saturday pre-Election Day breakfast in Boardman have on the tight gubernatorial race?
“Every person in the room will vote for Democrats or have already voted for Democrats so I’m not sure the visit will have an impact,” said Paul Sracic, chairman of Youngstown State University’s political science department.
There is a chance that those at the Clinton breakfast will leave Mr. Anthony’s with enthusiasm and excitement, and urge their friends and family to vote for Strickland and other Democrats, Sracic said.
But that’s unlikely because the visit is only three days before the election, and there aren’t many undecided voters, he said.
Democratic leaders are pulling out all the stops in Ohio doing what they can to get Strickland re-elected.
Clinton, who still enjoys a lot of popularity in Ohio, will also make appearances Saturday for Strickland and other Democrats in Canton and Columbus.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will be in Cleveland on Sunday for a rally there. Biden will also be in Toledo on Sunday.
It wasn’t that long ago that it looked bleak for Strickland.
But polls show Strickland has gained ground on Republican John Kasich in recent weeks, and the race is a statistical dead-heat.
If Strickland is going to win, he needs to rely heavily on strong voter turnout in the traditional Democratic power bases — the Mahoning Valley, the Cleveland area and Toledo.
While Strickland has campaigned statewide, he’s spent a lot of time in those Democratic areas, and is coming back to them in the final days before Tuesday’s election.
If Strickland doesn’t pile up the votes there, he’s not going to get re-elected.
A tight gubernatorial race doesn’t bode well for other Democrats running statewide.
Even so, I think the Democratic candidates for attorney general, incumbent Richard Cordray, and for auditor, David Pepper, should win their races.
Some incumbent Democrats from Ohio in the U.S. House are in trouble. At least two are going to lose and two others are in tight races.
In the Mahoning Valley, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, is one of the safest Democratic members of Congress in Ohio.
But U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, D-6th, is among the two in tight races. [The other is U.S. Rep. John Boccieri of Alliance, D-16th, who used to live in and represent the Mahoning Valley in the state Legislature.]
Wilson has raised and spent a lot more money than Bill Johnson of Poland, his Republican opponent.
But there is a lot of money from outside special-interest groups being spent on this race.
We’ll see what happens when the votes are counted Tuesday.