Coleman Drops Out Of OH Gov
News out of Ohio this a.m. is that Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman (D) will drop out of the GOV race, citing family reasons (today’s Hotline has more of the details).
That would seem to be a boost to the only other major Dem in the race, Rep. Ted Strickland, allowing him plenty of time to watch the three GOP candidates duke it out before the May 2nd primary. But already, ex-Rep./now-state Sen. Eric Fingerhut, the Dem challenger to Sen. George Voinovich (R) in '04, is signaling he'll jump in. The Cleveland Plain Dealer even mentions the oft-mentioned Jerry Springer possibility. Sure, the scandals plaguing state government in the wake of Tom Noe leave GOPers vulnerable. But, as we also see in the Hackett-Brown SEN situation, Dems can't seem to get on the same page.
What's more: there are at least 3 Dems seeking to replace Denny White, who abruptly resignated as chair of the Ohio Democratic Party last week. [MIKE MEMOLI]
Sorry to see Coleman go. Not sorry to see Denny White leave -- simply not qualified. Would be nice to see the other Denny (Dennis Lieberman, who should have been there in the first place) take the reins.