OH-05 Latta v. Weirauch Election Results: They're Available On The Daily Bellwether

Ohio Republican Party: The Democrats gave it all they had in OH-05 and still took a licking. There is no spin in that statement, just the truth.

BULLETIN: At 9:26 p.m. it appears that Republican Bob Latta holds a nearly 10 point lead with more than half the vote counted. Those are unofficial results. It does not look like Weirauch can win. Latta is on his way to becoming Ohio's newest congressman and the GOP has held OH-05. Short version: Latta wins.

9:39 p.m. -- The Associated Press reports Latta beat Weirauch.

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's Web site is posting the results in Ohio's 5th Congressional District as the votes are counted. Follow the returns as they are reported from all 16 counties by clicking here.

The Wood County Board of Elections in Bowling Green also is posting live results. It has county-by-county and districtwide totals. Wood County is the most populous in OH-05, and under Ohio law keeps the running total for the district.

The vote count will be updated throughout the evening in the special election between Republican State Rep. Bob Latta and Democrat Robin Weirauch.

OH-05 GOP Bob Latta: Cuban-American Who Opposed Border Fence Gives Him $$$$

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (TDB) -- A South Florida congressman who was one of six GOP U.S. House members voting last year against the border fence with Mexico has sent a $1,000 check to Bob Latta's OH-05 congressional campaign. U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart is a Cuban-American who has generally supported President George Bush's immigration reform policies. The House approved the fence by a wide margin in September 2006. Bush's reform proposals have been rejected in Congress because they were seen as offering amnesty to about 12 to 14 million illegal immigrants -- most from Central America and Mexico -- believed to reside in the U.S.

Latta has portrayed himself an immigration hardliner. He has called illegal immigrants "a slap in the face" to resident aliens living in the United States with proper documents allowing entry. Latta says he favors the fence along the Mexican border. It is not clear why he would accept financial support for his campaign from someone who opposes the fence along the Mexican border.

U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio and the House minority leader, has described the bill that Diaz-Balart voted against last year as critical to securing U.S. borders.

"With more border patrol agents, additional fencing and border infrastructure, and more state-of-the-art surveillance, this bill will make a real difference in securing America's borders."

Ohio's Bizzyblog: Bob Latta Backed Tax Increases 'Hurt The State Of Ohio'

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Bizzyblog's Tom Blumer is in full attack mode against Democrat Robin Weirauch, whom he paints as an untrustworthy liberal in a lengthy series of posts on the eve of Dec. 11's OH-05 congressional special election. But it looks a lot like smoke and mirrors. Just 20 months ago, Bizzyblog denounced the tax increases supported by State Rep. Bob Latta, Bob Taft, Jean Schmidt and other Ohio Republicans as actions that "so hurt the state of Ohio and its economy."

Weirauch's campaign against Latta has largely been based upon the idea that Ohio's economy is down and needs to be pushed forward by jobs and growth. Bizzyblog seems to be supporting Latta, who approved the tax policies that Bizzyblog says cost Ohio jobs and growth. Again, Bizzyblog says the Taft-era tax policies -- which Latta supported -- hurt the state's economy.

In fact, in April 2006 Bizzyblog said U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, a Republican who holds the OH-02 House seat in southern Ohio, had been receiving warranted and relentless criticism for supporting Bob Taft-era tax increases while serving in the state legislature. Latta, of course, voted the same way Schmidt voted. Here's a pertinent excerpt from Bizzyblog:

"Jean Schmidt has been relentlessly criticized, and with more than a little justification, for supporting the Taft-era tax increases that have so hurt the State of Ohio and its economy during her time as a state representative."

Please note what Bizzyblog reported: "the Taft-era tax increases that have so hurt the State of Ohio and its economy. . ."

The complete text is available by poring through this Bizzyblog item. It is difficult to comprehend why Bizzyblog would defend Latta, who cast votes for Taft-era tax increases that he believes have damaged the state and harmed its economy.

OH-05: Gov. Strickland Says Weirauch Has Ohio Values In New Ad

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Gov Ted Strickland appears in OH-05 Democrat Robin Weirauch's newest TV ad and praises her as "one of us, she is not a person of privilege." The 30-second spot is now on YouTUBE and can be viewed by clicking this link. Strickland steers clear of attacking Weirauch's opponent, GOP State Rep. Bob Latta. Instead, the governor emphasizes her NW Ohio roots and says she won't be the kind of politician who goes to the Capitol and takes on airs.

"This region of Ohio needs someone who will be an advocate for them, not someone who is going to go to Washington and forget where they are from. We all know Washington is broken."

Weirauch's biography is here, and Strickland's words mesh well with her campaign slogan, "Homegrown Values."

Strickland is extremely popular around the state and carried Ohio's 5th Congressional District in 2006 when he was elected governor. It was a feat because the district routinely votes Republican. If Weirauch wins the special election Tuesday, Dec. 11, she will be the first Democrat to hold the OH-05 House seat since 1938.

OH-05: Cincinnati Reds Owner, Wal-Mart PAC Send Checks To Latta

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Cincinnati Reds CEO Bob Castellini, who five weeks ago hosted President Bush for a GOP fundraiser that reportedly netted $575,000 in Ohio, sent a $2,300 check this week to Bob Latta's congressional campaign. Also donating were Carl and Edyth Lindner -- together they gave $4,300. Carl Lindner owned controlling interest in the Reds before selling out to Castellini's investment group. He also was chairman of Chiquita Brands International, the Cincinnati-based banana company that pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges it financially supported a rightwing terrorist group in Colombia.

Lindner and Castellini are from Cincinnati, and both are major Republican donors. The Wal-Mart Stores Inc. political action committee, which is located in Arkansas where the discount retail chain has its headquarters, also is backing Latta and gave his campaign $2,500 Wednesday.

Latta, a GOP state representative from Bowling Green, is running against Democrat Robin Weirauch for the vacant U.S. House seat in Ohio's 5th Congressional District, which covers 16 counties. The seat was held by Paul Gillmor, who died last Sept. 5. The special election will be held Tuesday.

OH-O5 GOP Bob Latta: MIA On Bill That Says Illegals Can't Have Ohio Licenses

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (TDB) -- Republican congressional candidate Bob Latta is portraying himself as an immigration hardliner who would bar illegals from receiving taxpayer-funded health care and education benefits. But the state legislator from Bowling Green hasn't signed on to support a bipartisan measure in the Ohio House that would take the actions he is now promising. The House immigration crackdown bill Latta has turned his back on also includes a prohibition against Ohio driver licenses and ID cards to immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

For the past three months, Latta has been missing in action from the sponsor's list on H.B. 308, a measure that would place restrictions on hiring and sheltering illegal immigrants in Ohio. The measure was introduced last September and restricts "the employment, transport, post-secondary education benefits, driver's licenses and identification cards, and receipt of public benefits of persons who are not legal residents of the United States."

Legislative officials say they are unaware of any steps taken by Latta to sign on as a co-sponsor.

"He's full of it, he's hasn't lifted a finger on this issue in the Statehouse. They sent out for co-sponsorships. If Latta wanted to do something, he could have jumped on it. You had Republicans like Bill Seitz and Courtney Combs who signed up, and Dale Mallory, a Democrat whose brother is the mayor of Cincinnati. Where's Latta? He's missing in action. He could have done something in Columbus. He only wants to do a commercial, not any lawmaking. He's totally full of it."

Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, moved to the Ohio Senate when Patty Clancy stepped down. Combs is a former Butler County Commissioner. Combs comes from a community where the sheriff and other local officials are making it clear that illegal immigrants are not welcome.

Latta is running against Democrat Robin Weirauch for the vacant U.S. House seat in Ohio's 5th Congressional District. The special election is Dec. 11.

Latta says Weirauch favors extending federally financed health care benefits to illegal immigrants. Weirauch's campaign says Latta's charge is false. Latta held a news conference this week that was timed to coincide with the release of a campaign ad that proclaims "Washington Does Nothing" about illegal immigration. The National Republican Congressional Committee goes on to say that Latta is "ready to get tough on illegal immigration."

OH-05 Dem Robin Weirauch: Latta Voted Against Raising Death Benefit For Ohio National Guard

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (TDB) -- Democratic congressional candidate Robin Weirauch says her opponent has a "lackluster record" on veterans issues. The campaign said Bob Latta is on record opposing efforts to increase the death benefit paid to families of Ohio National Guard members who are killed in action. Republican Latta cast the nay votes in February and June 2005 while serving in the Ohio General Assembly. The death benefit was increased from $20,000 to $100,000 as Ohio Guard troops took part in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Weirauch and Latta are in a contest for a vacant House seat in Ohio's 5th District, which covers 16 counties, primarily in the state's NW corner outside of Toledo. The special election is Dec. 11. Some 52,800 veterans live in the district.

Weirauch was born on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton and grew up in a military family. She said veterans' issues will be a high priority if she is elected to Congress.

"I have always believed we have a moral responsibility to do everything possible to care for our nation's fighting men and women. We've seen too many career politicians such as my opponent makes speeches standing in front of veterans groups. The mark of a real leader is standing behind our veterans when it counts."

Open Letter To Robin Weirauch: Tell The DCCC To Pull Their Attack Ad

Dear Robin:
You have run a great campaign. You have spoken from your heart about the need for Ohio values in Washington, how somebody needs to speak out and stand against the mindset that puts the well-financed backers of lobbyists in tailored suits and alligator shoes over the homespun interests of hardworking people. Remember, you hope to represent a state where sweater vests never went out of style. You value honesty, respect for neighbors, church, the value of work. You have said repeatedly you won't be part of the Washington crowd.

[UPDATE 1 -- Jeff Coryell's Ohio Daily Blog has the district's demographics. It is rural, covers 16 counties and is filled with blue collar workers. The largest city has fewer than 30,000 resident.]

So prove it. Get rid of that attack ad. All it does is make you part and parcel with the crop of politicians from whom you've tried to set yourself apart. You were succeeding. You don't need to get down in the gutter. Your message was up. The ad is down. It has no class, and may actually undo all that you have accomplished this fall. Tell the DCCC to send you the video so you can bury it in a landfill.

If you take a stand on principle and ask the DCCC to pull the ad -- if you say thanks, but no thanks -- you will have proven that you really are a different kind of politician, someone who believes what she says, someone who stands behind what she says. You have pledged no dirt, no attacks, only the high road. Live up to that pledge. Speak up.

If you do, you will be seen as a square, and people will notice. The presses will stop, the radio talk shows will buzz, the blogs will light up. Why? Because somebody said: I have standards. When I say a clean campaign and no attacks, I mean exactly that. In fact, I mean everything I say. That I will fight for jobs and against unfair trade deals. That I will fight the corporate lobbyists. That I will fight for health care and the children's health insurance program. That I won't be a Bush-Cheney patsy. That I really mean it when I say that taxes on the middle class need to be lowered.

Robin, from one end of the U.S. to the other, people will notice if a candidate says enough is enough. Throwing mud is not your message; being dedicated and working hard is the message.

That DCCC attack ad doesn't help you. It only makes you look like just another pol who will say or do anything to get elected. Or let somebody say or do anything in your behalf. Sternly shake your finger at the DCCC and tell it to craft a better message, one that says a cop's wife from a small Ohio town called Napoleon can go to Washington and get things done. That somebody who started life working in a factory wants to make things better. That the days of the slicksters and sidesteppers and cheap shot artists are finished.

House Dems OH-05 Attack Ad: It Stinks And Ohio Deserves Better

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- This attack ad is now on YouTUBE, and it represents the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's foray into Ohio's 5th District to aid Robin Weirauch. She has been fresh, upbeat, pretty much tireless and perhaps on the road to an upset win against State Rep. Bob Latta. So what does she get from the House Dems in Washington? Warmed over material that rehashes everything you were bored to death hearing about Tom Noe, Bob Taft and Latta's troubles with the Ohio Elections Commission. Snore.

The ad is about as stimulating and watchable as a rerun of the Lawrence Welk Show on PBS. And equally as predictable. A-one, a-two, a-three. Maybe the House Dems' writers are on strike, too? At least Welk had a machine that blew soap bubbles at his audience while the band played on.

Weirauch is a candidate with a populist, positive message. She's talking about jobs moving offshore, about Ohio's factories being creamed by cheap labor in China, about people who can't afford health care, about being tuned into small towns and the area of the state where she grew up and wants to serve in the Capitol. She wants to cut taxes on the middle class. She's kept her pledge not to take potshots at her opponent. But she gets second-rate schlock from the DCCC, a script from 2006 about Noe and Taft.

The ad is called "Ohio Deserves Better." And it does.

Ohio Valley Politics has the ad, and also a link to the much more clever Ohio Democratic Party Web site launched today that actually makes some pretty good partisan points. Buckeye State Blog has the ad up, too, and proprietor Jerid Kurtz notes in a comment that it looks a lot like the stuff Latta tossed at State Sen. Steve Buehrer in the GOP primary during October and November. Jerid just adds to the sense this is tired material. It just may be that the homegrown Dems know more than the Washington Dems.

OH-05: NRCC Attacks Weirauch As Ally of Kucinich And Michael Moore

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The National Republican Congressional Committee rips OH-05 Democratic candidate Robin Weirauch as an extreme liberal who "supports taxpayer-funded, government-run healthcare for illegal immigrants." The proof offered is a May 2006 press release issued by the theater and stage employees union, IATSE.

According to the NRCC -- the fundraising and electioneering arm of House Republicans -- Weirauch endorsed H.R. 676 in 2006 while the measure was pending in a previous Congress. The bill did not go anywhere and died in the GOP controlled House under former Speaker Dennis Hastert. Cleveland Democrat Dennis Kucinich and Toledo's Marcy Kaptur were cosponsors. The bill was a proposal to guarantee health care coverage to every America. Another version of the bill has been introduced this year and it has been endorsed Michael Moore, the movie director, author and political activist. The GOP says it is evidence that Weirauch holds "far-left positions."

OH-O5 Debate Transcript: GOP's Bob Latta Vs. Dem Robin Weirauch

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Glass City Jungle has put together and published a fast transcript of the Latta-Weirauch showdown broadcast this a.m. on a Toledo TV station. Read the transcript and choose your own winner.

And give a big thanks to Lisa Renee Ward, the editor of Glass City Jungle. It is a great post, a feat of grassroots journalism and the power of the Ohiosphere. She has made it possible for everyone to follow the debate between the two candidates for the open seat in Ohio's 5th Congressional District. It was an act of true public service to release the transcript on the 'net so quickly.

OH-05 Dem Robin Weirauch: Sounding Tough Like Tancredo On Immigration

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Democrat Robin Weirauch is strutting her blue collar roots -- she used to work beside her mother in a factory -- and has been heating up the anti-NAFTA rhetoric. Now she's pledging a crackdown against undocumented aliens and says she's in the camp that favors "absolutely no amnesty, no driver's licenses and no federal benefits for illegal immigrants."

[UPDATE: 12:20 PM est -- Weirauch is traveling around NW Ohio today and in speeches she is targeting what she has called the "Taft Tax," the sales tax increase sought by former GOP Gov. Bob Taft that was the biggest tax hike in the state's history. "To create a new direction for Ohio, we need new leaders with new priorities. We remember all too well what the politics of the past brought. Career politicians gave us the Taft Tax, which was the largest tax increase in Ohio history in order to pay for budgets that provided millions for the special interests. Worst of all, those same career politicians told middle class Ohioans to pay for it all." Jeff Coryell is on the road with Robin and Ohio Daily Blog is carrying his reports.]

Weirauch is running against Republican State Rep. Bob Latta for the vacant seat in Ohio's 5th Congressional District, which covers the conservative northwest corner of the state. The special election is Dec. 11. Latta voted for Taft's sales tax increase. The district covers a patch of political turf that has not been held by a Democrat since 1938. Weirauch has fashioned a message that looks to be in tune in a region filled with farms and small factories that are being squeezed by globalization, high energy costs and an economy that seems to have left much of the Midwest behind. On immigration, Weirauch -- who is campaigning today with Gov. Ted Strickland -- is running to the right of many who come from her party's Big City urban districts. She says family budgets in rural Ohio are being stretched beyond the breaking point as local economies wither.

"Unfortunately, the politicians in Washington have worked harder on behalf of the special interests than the working families of Northwest Ohio."

On her campaign blog Weirauch writes that she considers illegal immigrants a threat to Ohio's rural economy. She says they are part-and-parcel with what she calls foreign trade agreements fashioned by corporate lobbyists that don't have the interests of U.S. workers at their core. Weirauch writes:

"Making matters worse, Washington isn't enforcing our immigration laws, allowing big companies to hire illegal aliens without being penalized. That isn't right. Washington has failed to fix America's broken immigration system and hardworking Northwest Ohioans are paying the price. Washington needs to enforce our immigration laws and hold employers liable when they break them. We must secure our borders and make sure that illegal immigrants aren't rewarded for breaking the law . . .

"We've had enough of politicians who send our jobs overseas, support trade agreements that encourage illegal immigration, and fail to enforce immigrations laws."

OH-05 Dem Weirauch: Flawed Trade Policies Allowed Toxic Toys

TOLEDO (TDB) -- Democratic congressional candidate Robin Weirauch chose a crowded shopping area near a Toys R Store to denounce trade policies that have delivered "a lethal bill of goods" to U.S. stores and consumers. Weirauch spoke on Black Friday, the first day of the Christmas shopping season, and said too many imports -- including toys from cheap-labor Asian factories -- are shoddy, dangerous and have been made with toxic substances like lead. She said officials in Washington have either ignored the problem or looked the other way.

Weirauch wants consumer products safety to become a major issue and also urges families to shop for American-made goods whenever possible.

"Our manufacturing jobs have been shipped to places like China and India, and what do we get in return? Shoddy, unsafe toys that pose life-threatening consequences for our children. In fact, 80 percent of the toys bought in the United States are imported from China, and the vast majority of these toys are never being inspected."

Weirauch is trying to capture a traditional GOP seat in a conservative district. She faces Republican Bob Latta in a Dec. 11 special election to fill Ohio's vacant 5th Congressional District seat. It was held by Paul Gillmor, an entrenched and popular GOP veteran who died in a household accident last September. She pulled 43% of the vote against him in 2006. Weirauch has begun hammering on the trade issue across the NW Ohio district. The criticism plays well in Ohio, where more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost this decade. She contends trade agreements such as NAFTA have undercut the state's economic base while flooding U.S. markets with toxic goods.

"I know one thing for sure, when these products were made in America, we didn't have to worry about toxic toys. When our toys were made right here in Ohio, our kids were safe. Washington is broken, and the way this crisis has been handled is all the proof we need. Like Ohioans, I was absolutely stunned to learn that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has only one person testing toys being shipped to the U.S. Washington put a single person in charge of making sure that toxic toys never made it to the shelves . . ."

Pro-Life PAC Endorses Schmidt And Latta in Ohio: Pledges Susan B. Anthony Dollars

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Republican Bob Latta's NW Ohio campaign to claim the vacant OH-05 congressional seat in a Dec. 11 special election has been endorsed by the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, which bundles political donations from across the nation for its approved slate. The 501c organization has been described as a conservative counter to EMILY's List, which backs Democrats. U.S. Rep Jean Schmidt also is being backed by the Susan B. Anthony List, a key endorsement that may help her raise money for the March GOP primary contest against challenger Phil Heimlich. She had the group's support in 2006 as well.

In July, the PAC had about $110,000 on hand to spend on the 2008 campaign. It claims about 140,000 members across the U.S. and bundles donations for candidates. The PAC's goal is to elect pro-life women to Congress, but it will support men if they are facing a Democratic candidate who supports a woman's right to choose an abortion. Marjorie Dannensfelser, who heads the group, called Latta and Schmidt pro-life "heroes" who need money immediately for their races in Ohio.

"Susan B. Anthony List members are eager to support pro-life heroes when they need it most -- right now. The consequences of disengagement are dire. The lives of women and their unborn babies are on the line, and the Susan B. Anthony List candidate fund is ready to defend them at the ballot box."

OH-05 Dem Robin Weirauch: Bad Trade Deals Have Bled This State

FREMONT, Ohio (TDB) -- Democratic Congressional candidate Robin Weirauch went to a closed TRW plant in NW Ohio and said the 270 workers who lost jobs are victims of national policies that tug against the interests of blue collar Americans. She wants a moratorium on "faulty trade deals" and worries the factory economy is being been sold piecemeal to China. Weirauch also said Congress needs to do more to help U.S. manufacturers that have stayed home.

[Image courtesy Wikipedia -- it is a generic shuttered factory from England, and not the Fremont plant Weirauch visisted.]

Weirauch is campaigning for a vacant seat in Ohio's 5th District across NW portions of the state. She faces Republican Bob Latta in a Dec. 11 special election required by the death of Paul Gillmor last September.

Weirauch hammered on trade agreements that critics -- foremost among them Democratic U.S. Sherrod Brown -- contend have shipped U.S. jobs overseas to cheap labor countries like China. Brown made the jobs issue a centerpiece of his successful campaign to defeat Mike DeWine last November. It is a topic that seems to resonate with Ohio voters in a state where the economy has lagged. Said Weirauch:

"How many of our neighbors have worked hard and played by the rules with a promise of economic security, a good pension and health care into their golden years. The fact is, Washington isn't listening to these stories. We are witnessing the legacy of failed trade policies which have crippled American manufacturing, moved our jobs overseas and have created stagnant wage growth for the past seven years.

"We need to change the way that Washington does business. And and that is why I am calling for an immediate moratorium on faulty trade deals. When I am in Congress, I am going to fight hard to ensure that we don't sell off our economy piece by piece to China or India, that is just bad business. I also pledge to go after companies that are more interested in sending jobs overseas than they are being good corporate citizens. But I don't want to just provide punitive solutions. This is about fostering a good climate that allows businesses that stay here to be competitive in the global market."

OH-05 Dem Robin Weirauch: Nixguy Cranks Up The GOP Attack Machine

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (TDB) -- Looks like the Republicans are worried about Democrat Robin Weirauch removing another U.S. House seat from GOP control in Ohio's 5th Congressional District. Nixguy is out today claiming that Weirauch has violated her pledge not to go negative.

Nixguy Dave Macy's complaint: Weirauch mentioned the Ohio Elections Commission found GOP nominee Bob Latta guilty of lying four times in his just-concluded primary against State Sen. Steve Buehrer.

Apparently, Nix considers it worse to point out the truth about an opponent than to lie about an opponent.

Ohio's Blogs: Have Election Results From Across The State

The link is here at Writes Like She Talks (updated)and it will take you to reports from all corners of Ohio, including OH-05 where State. Rep. Bob Latta appears to have won the GOP nomination to succeed the late Paul Gillmor in Congress. The Republican will face Democratic nominee Robin Weirauch on Dec. 11 in a special election that is going to be a world beater. Why? Because it will be the only game in town. The two national parties are going to punch it out in the NW corner of Ohio, a region that is traditionally Republican. The door may be slightly ajar to a Dem after Gillmor's sudden death in September.

More Ohio Voting Machine Problems: OH-05 Failures Widespread

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner obtained a court order keeping the polls open in Putnam County after reporting that electronic voting machines had widespread problems in a congressional primary. The complete text of her lawsuit says there are 40 machines and "most, if not all, have experienced failures at some point during the day."

Putnam County is in Ohio's 5th Congressional District, which covers 16 counties. There were Democratic and Republican primaries under way to fill the seat left vacant by the death of U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor, who passed away in September. Brunner's office issued this press release about the problems in Putnam County and noted all of the machines were on loan from Franklin County. Putnam County's voting machines were destroyed by flooding last summer.

Brunner said only the congressional balloting was affected by "intermittent failures" and that voting for local races had proceeded smoothly. She said it was not known what caused the problems.

Ohio Elections Commission: It Says Both OH-05 Republicans Are Liars

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Ronald Reagan used to invoke the 11th Commandment -- thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican. The Ohio Elections Commission -- a panel that is supposed to keep state campaigns on the straight and narrow -- has found the top two GOP candidates in OH-05 have trouble honoring No. 8 on the list from the Old Testament. The one that says, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."

Last month, the OEC said State Sen. Steve Buehrer and his chief financial backer, the Club for Growth PAC, sponsored ads containing false information about State Rep. Bob Latta's vote on tax legislation. Today, the OEC reprimanded Latta for distributing campaign literature that made false claims about Buehrer. The political flyers said Buehrer opposed school prayer and "didn't want" the Ten Commandments posted in public schools.

There is some irony in today's OEC decision that benefited Buehrer on the last day before the primary election. Last month, the Club for Growth ripped the OEC as being in the tank for Latta. Of course, the panel proved today it was unbiased and willing to smack down questionable rhetoric from either Republican.

The Toledo Blade's Jim Provance reports the OEC stopped short of recommending criminal prosecution against Latta.

"Today's reprimand marks the most severe stance taken to date by the bipartisan commission in dueling complaints filed by both sides. . . The commission had the option of referring either candidate for possible criminal prosecution, but opted not to."

H/T to Jeff Coryell at Ohio Daily Blog for spotting the Provance story when it appeared today. No matter which Republican wins the primary, they will be under a cloud for the next round. An official body has determined they lied to gain political advantage. So the GOP is not exactly holding the ethical high ground in a special election set for Dec. 11 against the Democratic party's likely nominee Robin Weirauch.

OH-05 Buehrer: Oops, Club For Growth Ad Used Project Vote Smart Data

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (TDB) -- Oh-05 Republican Steve Buehrer says it was "despicable" and unethical for Bob Latta to use Project Vote Smart candidate survey data in an attack ad. Yet the Club for Growth -- which has given Buehrer about $260,000 for his House campaign against Latta -- did the same thing in another political contest. It used Project Vote Smart data as a political weapon.

Jeff Coryell at Ohio Daily Blog had this piece on Oct. 18 about Project Vote Smart's complaint that Latta had used its material in an attack ad. The PVS presser noted it happened very rarely.

Still, Red SeaLLC made an attack ad with PVS as a source for the Buehrer-backing Club for Growth to use in an Idaho House race. It seems that what is wrong in the Midwest is proper in the Far West. Or maybe the Club for Growth and Buehrer figured nobody would notice.

Buehrer and Latta are arguing over a 2002 survey about school prayer and the Ten Commandments. Latta did a mailer to GOP voters earlier this month noting that the Project Vote Smart survery showed Buehrer was opposed to religion in schools and public buildings. Buehrer, however, said he didn't answer a question and indeed supports school prayer and the Ten Commandments. Meanwhile, Project Vote Smart has complained Latta was not supposed to use the survey results in an attack ad, and Buehrer has been ballistic over the incident. He was quoted in the Toledo Blade:

"Project Vote Smart is categorically criticizing Mr. Latta for using something that is supposed to be a guide for voters as a political weapon. I think that is the most despicable sort of attack you can think of."

Apparently, the Club for Growth -- Buehrer's financial angel in the NW Ohio GOP primary contest -- had already delivered the "most despicable sort of attack you can think of." Doesn't seem like Latta is the only guy with muddy hand in the NW Ohio House contest.

The Blade story was by Joe Vardon and it captures nicely Buehrer's horror. Of course, it doesn't mention that Buehrer's backers had done the same thing in another state.