Tuesday, July 31, 2012
LaTourette quits race for re-election
With U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, a nine-term Republican congressman, quitting his race for re-election today, don’t look for the Democratic nominee to do the same.
The seven-county 14th Congressional District is the most competitive Democratic-Republican districts in the state.
With LaTourette’s decision, it would make it easier for Democrats to win the seat.
But Dale Virgil Blanchard of Solon, the Democratic nominee, says he will absolutely not quit the race. Blanchard has lost eight consecutive congressional races.
If Blanchard left, it would allow Democrats to field a better-funded candidate with a stronger political track record.
“There is no way I’d ever get out of the race,” Blanchard said today. “I was the one out there in the rain and snow and sleet and hail getting signatures [on nominating petitions]. There’s no way I’d get out of the race.”
No one else filed as a Democrat in the district, which includes northern Trumbull County.
“Democrats should be doing what they always should have been doing and that’s backing me,” Blanchard said. “They’ve never helped me raise money in any of my campaigns.”
For the complete story, read Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com