2006 Governors Races

Ohio CBS NEWS PROJECTS TED STRICKLAND WINNER Democrat Ted Strickland vs. Republican Ken Blackwell (Open seat) Incumbent Republican Bob Taft is term-limited. Democrats’ hopes were high here, in part, because Taft’s approval ratings were low. Taft suffered from the poor Ohio economy and his plea of no contest to misdemeanor charges of failing to report gifts. Ohio Democrats tried to tie Blackwell to Taft. On the night of the May primaries, Ohio Dems sent out a press release referring to Ken "Taftwell" and said Blackwell couldn’t hide from his Taft Republican record. President Bush eked out a victory here to win reelection. As Ohio’s chief elections officer, Blackwell oversaw the controversial 2004 election. Some Republicans believed Blackwell was too far to the right to win this race. Blackwell was one of the nation’s few prominent black Republican officeholders and Strickland’s base was in the rural, conservative-leaning district he represents in Congress, not urban areas like most Democrats.