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-O5 Steve Buehrer: Payday Lenders Now Sending $$$ His Way

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (TDB) -- A campaign finance report filed this week with the Federal Election Commission shows major players in the payday lending industry have started making contributions to State Sen. Steve Buehrer's GOP primary campaign. The Daily Bellwether noted $6,000 came in Monday in three separate contributions from two executives and a Kansas PAC.

Payday lenders have been tarred as preying upon low-income Ohioans. State lawmakers are considering measures that would place new limits on the industry, which has a growing reputation for gouging its customers.

Now Buehrer has found backers in the industry. A. David Davis of Cincinnati is listed as the executive vice president of Check N Go. He gave $2,000. So did Steven Scroggins of Cleveland, who is listed as the CEO of Check Into Cash. The PAC from Overland Park, Kan., is affiliated with QC Holdings.

Buehrer is a conservative Republican running for the GOP nomination in a Nov. 6 primary against State Rep. Bob Latta. Ohio's 5th Congressional District has been vacant since the death of U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor last month.

[UPDATE: The race on the Republican side is rancorous and sharp-elbowed. Here's Right Angle Blog with news of the National Taxpayers Union endorsing Buehrer, a candidate who is running to the right of Latta and portraying him as a Bob Taft ally. And here's Buckeye State Blog with a new Latta ad that describes Buehrer as misrepresenting the state rep's record on tax votes in the legislature. No doubt about it, OH-O5 is political mudwrestling. Or a barnburner in a section of the state, NW Ohio, where there still are a lot of barns. RAB and BSB are lighting the fires in the 'sphere.]

Payday lending is under increasing scrutiny in Ohio because the short term loans can become quite costly if they are not paid off quickly. Earlier this month, a bill was filed in the Ohio House with 28 co-sponsors that takes aim at reported payday lending consumer abuses, and it includes a cap on interest rates. This Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial says legislators must act to clean up the industry, an industry that now seems to be in process of trying to purchase a seat in the U.S. House.