oh_sen_VOINOVICH

GEORGE VOINOVICH

· Republican Incumbent Gov. George Voinovich was re-elected to a second term in 1994 with the largest margin (72%-25%) since 1826.

· Voinovich was raised in a blue-collar section of Cleveland. His father was a Democrat and his grandparents were immigrants.

· VoinovichÂ's political career began early; in High School, he was Student Body President. While getting a graduate degree, he ran the Young Republicans and met his future wife, Janet, at a political rally. They married in 1962 and together had four children. In 1979, their daughter Molly was killed in a car accident.

· Voinovich was elected Lt. Governor of Ohio in 1978, but resigned after one year to run for Mayor of Cleveland. He rescued Cleveland from financial meltdown; after his predecessor Dennis Kucinich bankrupted the city, Voinovich fixed the budget and initiated the cityÂ's economic re-birth.

· In 1988, Voinovich was defeated in his attempt to unseat incumbent Sen. Howard Metzenbaum.

· During his first term as Governor, Voinovich turned a $1.5 Billion deficit into a $828 Million rainy day fund. Despite his campaign promise not to raise taxes, he introduced a tax on cigarettes, soft drink, beer, wine, spas, and country clubs. The penny-per-can pop tax was repealed in 1994.

&middot Voinovich cut higher education spending, but increased funding for K-12 and Head Start; Ohio leads the nation in Head Start participation and support. Two initiatives he recently put before the voters, Issues 1 and 2, failed by popular vote.

· Voinovich was a potential Vice-Presidential candidate in 1996 on Bob DoleÂ's ticket.