Ratings Change
OH-05 VACANT: Gillmor (R) Solid Republican to Likely RepublicanTen-term GOP Rep. Paul Gillmor's death in early September set off a furious Republican primary campaign to fill his seat in a special election, but few people expected the special general election to garner much attention here. After all, this northwestern Ohio district gave President Bush 61 percent of the vote in 2004 and Democrats hold few local offices in the area. But, a notoriously bloody GOP primary and a decent Democratic showing in the district in 2006 - Gillmor won only 57 percent of the vote while Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland cruised to victory here - have kept national Democrats from shutting the door completely on nominee Robin Weirauch's chances.
There is no doubt the GOP primary campaign between conservative state Sen. Steve Buehrer and state Rep. Bob Latta, the son of Gillmor predecessor Delbert Latta, took on a Hatfields-vs.-McCoys mentality. Buehrer, who was the intended beneficiary of a heavy ad buy on the part of the anti-tax Club for Growth PAC, hit Latta on voting for
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