House Editor David Wasserman examines the contentious special election race to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Ohio GOP Rep. Paul Gillmor and the decisions of the DCCC and NRCC to get involved. Although Republicans are strongly favored to hold this reliably GOP district, a cheap media market and open avenues of attack have encouraged outside groups to play here. Their heavy presence in the district has produced a lot of heat, but has not shed much light on the race’s standing.
Ratings Change:
OH-05 VACANT (Gillmor) Solid Republican to Likely Republican
OH-05 VACANT (Gillmor) Likely Republican to Toss Up
Ten-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. However, 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
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