GOP flexes political muscle in Columbus

It’s amusing to hear some Ohio Republicans deny they didn’t gerrymander the new congressional districts.

Of the 16 districts state GOP leaders drew, only two — seats held by U.S. Reps. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, and Steven C. LaTourette of Bainbridge, R-14th — are somewhat competitive.

And the new 6th went from a Democratic district to leaning Republican.

I don’t know why all Republican officials can’t be as honest as Columbiana County GOP Chairman Dave Johnson.

“To the victor goes the spoils,” he said.

Of the remaining 14 districts, 10 of them are strong Republican districts and four — including the new 13th, which would be represented by Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Niles — are strong Democrat areas.

Redistricting takes effect with the 2012 election.

Try as they might, Democrats have failed to beat LaTourette, a nine-term incumbent and the lone Republican in northeast Ohio.

Because of LaTourette’s success, Republicans weren’t concerned about adding GOP-strong areas to his district.

Unlike LaTourette, Johnson is likely to be tested in next year’s congressional race.

Johnson is serving his first term in the House, had never run for public office before his 2010 win over Democrat Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, is still relatively unknown in his current 12-county congressional district, and Republicans added four full counties and parts of four other counties to his new district.

The day before the redistricting map came out, the National Republican Congressional Committee included Johnson among the new members of its Patriot Program.

The program provides financial and strategic assistance to Republican House members the NRCC feels could face legitimate Democratic opposition.

It’s possible Johnson could face a credible challenger in next year’s Republican primary for the reasons mentioned above.

The 6th was already the largest district in the state in size and is getting larger.

A couple of former congressmen — Wilson and John Boccieri, a former state representative and senator who served one term in the U.S. House before losing last year’s re-election bid — are considering challenging Johnson.

The way the new 6th District is drawn seems to favor Wilson over Boccieri.

Besides Wilson representing the current 6th for four years, he represented two of the district’s new counties when he served in the state Legislature.

Also, Belmont County, where Wilson lives, is entirely in the new 6th. Wilson lives in a portion of Belmont that’s not in the current 6th though that didn’t stop him from winning two 6th District races.

It looks like Ohio Republicans don’t fear Wilson as much as Boccieri, who lived in New Middletown as a state legislator, but moved to Alliance during his successful 2008 congressional campaign.

The new 6th guts large portions of Mahoning County, Boccieri’s base.

Republicans put Alliance into Ryan’s new district. Boccieri said there’s “no question about it” that it was done purposely to discourage him from running.

Strangely, though, New Middletown remains in the new 6th.

If Wilson doesn’t run, don’t dismiss a potential bid from his son, state Sen. Jason Wilson of Columbiana, D-30th.

The younger Wilson said he’s focused on the state Senate position, but an unfavorable redistricting for Wilson could make him a congressional candidate.