GOP targets three House seats in state

September 19, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

TOLEDO

Three freshman Democrats from Ohio have been in the GOP’s sights since their surprising congressional wins in 2008.

Now with angst about the economy and government spending taking hold among voters, Republicans hope to do more than just take back those three districts.

Republicans are targeting Ohio because it’s one of a handful of states where they have the best chance to take several seats. They need a gain of 40 to win a majority in the House, and a GOP takeover would likely elevate southwest Ohio’s John Boehner to House speaker.

The GOP has recruited a list of challengers in Ohio that include several wealthy businessmen who are pouring millions of dollars into their own campaigns and two candidates who lost close races two years ago.

The three Democrats who are most vulnerable are U.S. Reps. Steve Driehaus, Mary Jo Kilroy and John Boccieri.

All supported the controversial health-care overhaul that generated much opposition, and Boccieri received threats after he was one of eight Democrats who switched his vote.

They’re also in districts that had been in Republican hands since the mid-1990s up until two years ago, and all three races are expected to be tight in the Nov. 2 election. Early voting begins Sept. 28.

Boccieri is up against Northeast Ohio businessman Jim Renacci, the former owner of an arena football team in Columbus. Renacci’s strategy is to call for cutting federal spending and link his opponent with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying she dictates how Boccieri votes in Congress.

“They want to talk about a congresswoman from California; they want to talk about the president of the United States,” Boccieri said. “I want to talk about the people I represent.”

Driehaus faces a rematch against Steve Chabot, the six-term Republican congressman he knocked off in 2008 in part due to a large black turnout in the Cincinnati area for Obama.

There’s another rematch in what was the state’s closest congressional race two years ago.

Kilroy is up against Republican Steve Stivers, a former state senator. Her victory wasn’t decided until a month after the 2008 election.

Stivers had about $300,000 more in the bank, according to finance reports filed in July, but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee plans to help Kilroy with advertising in the final four weeks of the campaign.

The Democrats also have reserved air time for Boccieri and Driehaus.

Republicans think they can capitalize on anger over job losses in the state that have kept unemployment hovering above 10 percent this year. Though the jobless rate has fallen in recent months, it remained above the national rate in August, which was 9.6 percent.

Another issue they’re highlighting is the soaring federal deficit, which is on track to be the second-highest deficit of all time this year. Republicans say it shows the growth of spending under Democrats and their poor handling of the economy.

A step down on their list of targets are three Democrats elected four years ago: Reps. Zack Space, Betty Sutton and Charlie Wilson.