2006 Ohio's 2nd congressional district election
The Ohio 2nd congressional district election, 2006 is an election for the United States House of Representatives that will take place on November 7th, 2006. Incumbent Jean Schmidt, who won the seat in a special election in 2005, is running for reelection. She won a bitterly fought Republican primary, and is heavily favored to win against Democrat Victoria Wells Wulsin, a doctor from Indian Hill, in the general election.
Republican primary
Challenge from McEwen
Schmidt faced a challenge in the May 2 primary from Bob McEwen, the former congressman who finished second in the special primary in 2005. McEwen announced his candidacy on January 18, 2006. Schmidt received help from the national Republican leadership. Dennis Hastert, the Speaker of the House; John Boehner, the House Majority Leader; and Eric Cantor, the House Deputy Majority Whip, participated in fund-raisers for her.[1]. Tom Brinkman, the third-place Republican from the 2005 primary, did not run and instead endorsed McEwen.
Schmidt ran commercials claiming McEwen had voted "illegally" in Ohio and was actually a resident of Virginia, while stating McEwen had bounced 160 checks on the House bank. "McEwen ought to be ashamed," the commercial declared. Schmidt filed suit against McEwen seeking to bar him from voting in the primary claiming he was not actually a resident of Ohio. McEwen's commercials against Schmidt noted she had voted in support of Governor Bob Taft's increase in the sales tax and its extension to many services previously untaxed and questioned Schmidt's use of prominent Democratic attorney Stan Chesley to bring her lawsuit against McEwen.
False claims by Schmidt
Endorsements
On March 8, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Representatives Tom Tancredo of Colorado and Steve Chabot of Ohio stated they had not endorsed Schmidt even though Schmidt's campaign site claimed they had.[2] Chabot later said he had endorsed both Schmidt and her primary opponent. Schmidt also claimed an endorsment from the Family Research Council which was repudiated by the organization. After a review, the Ohio Elections Commission found that the Tancredo and Family Research Council endorsement claims were false but did not warrant any reprimand.[3]
Second degree
WLW-AM reported on March 28 that Schmidt had for years claimed a B.A. in secondary education from the University of Cincinnati awarded in 1986. Schmidt had previously listed two degrees on past campaign websites, but neither her current official or campaign website had the second degree posted. Schmidt's chief of staff, Barry Bennett, told The Plain Dealer Schmidt had completed the requirements for the degree but never filed the paperwork to be awarded a diploma. "I think it's fair to say that she earned it and never collected it," Bennett said. [4]
Reprimand
On April 27, five days before the May 2 primary against McEwen, the Ohio Elections Commission voted 7-0 to issue Schmidt a public reprimand for "false statements" for her claiming to have a second undergraduate degree from the University of Cincinnati that she was not awarded. The Commission wrote in its letter of reprimand that Schmidt had "reckless disregard for truth." [5].
Even after her reprimand, Schmidt insisted the error regarding her degrees was a mistake by her staff. On May 1, the day before the election, Schmidt appeared on Bill Cunninham's show on WLW-AM in Cincinnati and was asked by a caller about the OEC reprimand. Schmidt repeated her insistence the error was caused by the designer of her web-site incorrectly listing her teaching certificate as a degree in secondary education and social studies. However Schmidt had been claiming the second bachelor's degree since she first ran for public office in 1989. The Clermont Sun newspaper, in a candidate guide from its November 2, 1989 issue, stated "all candidates were mailed a questionnaire; their responses appear inside [the newspaper]." In her response, Schmidt wrote she possessed "bachelor's degrees in political science and secondary education."
Reprimand to McEwen
By a 6-1 vote on March 16, the Ohio Elections Commission issued a public reprimand to McEwen for making a false statement when he used the title "Congressman" before his name in the 2005 primary for Rob Portman's unexpired term. No fines or prosecution resulted from the reprimand.[6] Two other complaints against McEwen were dismissed by the Commission.
Results of the Republican primary
Schmidt won with 33,314 votes to 29,611 for McEwen, with two other candidates receiving slightly less than 7,000 votes; her winning margin was thus about 5%. unofficial results
Democratic primary
In the Democratic primary, Wulsin faced health care administrator James John Parker and civil engineer Jeff Sinnard, who both ran in 2005, and newcomers Gabrielle Downey, a high school teacher, and Thor Jacobs, a building contractor.
The vote results were more widely split than in the Republican primary, with five candidates running and four receiving a double-digit percentage share of the vote. Wulsin won the primary with 36.8% of the vote over second-place finisher Jacobs. [7]. Wulsin's vote total in the Democractic primary was 10,250 votes; Jacobs was second with 6,397 votes.[8]
Notable for not running was Paul Hackett, the Democratic candidate for the seat in 2005, who had entered and then withdrawn from the 2006 U.S. Senate race in Ohio. In the 2005 Democratic primary (part of a special election), Wulsin had finished second to Hackett, receiving 3,800 votes (27%).
November general election
The district is heavily Republican, as illustrated by the total Democratic primary vote amounting to only about 40% of the total Republican primary vote. Schmidt is heavily favored to win re-election, given the Republican majority in the district, her incumbency, and her opponent's political inexperience. But, recent polling may suggest a possible upset.
A poll conducted in June 2006 by Momentum Analysis found challenger Wulsin tied at 44% with incumbent Schmidt and 11% undecided. Additionally, the poll found that Wulsin leads Schmidt 50% to 37% in Hamilton County, the largest county in the district. [9]