Ohio Voters Express Their Displeasure with DeWine

Awhile back I reported that the Senate filibuster deal might pose a problem for the son of Ohio Senator Mike DeWine who was running in a primary for an open House seat. Looks like the Ohio voters didn't have much of a sense of humor about that whole filibuster thing:

Pat DeWine, son of U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, was considered an easy favorite to succeed newly named U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman as the Republican congressman from Ohio's 2nd District — until the younger DeWine ran afoul of the Christian right.

Now he won't even be on the ballot in the Aug. 2 special election.

In Tuesday's primary, 35-year-old DeWine finished a distant fourth behind Jean Schmidt, a former state representative who ran a traditional-values campaign that motivated conservative voters by staying above the vitriolic campaign fray and using techniques honed by supporters of President Bush in 2004.

Her victory and the defeat of DeWine are a sign that evangelical conservatives continue to hold powerful sway in this solidly Republican part of Ohio.

Having voter backlash against you relegate your son to a fourth place finish in a race that he's supposed to win is a pretty big slap in the face of dear old dad. The voters couldn't get at Senator DeWine directly, so they did the next best thing. There's a message in there somewhere, but I doubt the Gang of 7 will figure that out.

The article appears to downplay the effect of the filibuster deal on this election. Instead it places primary blame for DeWine's loss on those nasty Christian conservatives who didn't like things about DeWine's personal life.

Although he raised more than $1 million for his campaign, DeWine saw a commanding lead vanish over the last three months, due to objections from Christian conservatives who have become increasingly active politically.

Observers cite two factors: First, DeWine divorced three years ago, and news of the split spread on the Internet and in radio ads. Second, he suffered the wrath of conservative Christian activists after his father helped forge the recent compromise agreement in the Senate to preserve the filibuster for judicial nominations while guaranteeing confirmation of some but not all of Bush's nominees.

It's pretty clear, even to the casual observer even if not to the LA Times, that the folks in that district were taking their anger about the filibuster deal out specifically on DeWine the junior. He was cruising to an easy win before his dad's filibuster deal - this had nothing to do with his divorce which was well known back when he was leading the pack. I think the Times is just trying a cheap shot against religious conservatives:

Tim Rudd, chairman of the Clermont County Republican Committee, said the feelings against the DeWines were palpable after the senator helped forge the filibuster compromise.

"The reaction was, 'We've got one DeWine; we sure don't want another,' " Rudd said. Schmidt won with about 31% of the vote. DeWine received 12%.