Last week’s primary results in Ohio sent a resounding message from Republicans across the state: End the Obama-Pelosi agenda of endless spending and debt, government takeovers and fewer jobs. The GOP has a chance to win as many as five seats in Ohio. From Cincinnati to Cleveland, Ohioans are ready for responsible leadership on issues of job creation, fiscal discipline and smaller government. A key part of that momentum began in Ohio’s First Congressional District with a 2008 rematch pitting Pelosi Puppet Steve Driehaus against former U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot.
For 14 years, Chabot held the southwest Ohio congressional seat based in Cincinnati and covering parts of Hamilton and Butler counties along the Kentucky and Indiana borders. In defeating Steve Chabot by two points last cycle, Driehaus relied on sturdy Democratic turnout, boosted by then-candidate Barack Obama. Demonstrating Driehaus’s vulnerability, he underperformed the president by four percent, while Chabot outperformed the GOP presidential ticket by five percent. In an election cycle like 2008, which favored Democrats across the country, this spells sedate trouble for Driehaus’s re-election hopes.
Moreover, Steve Driehaus boasts a disastrous voting record. Speaker Pelosi and her devoted ally have pushed through health care legislation that cuts Medicare, includes job-killing tax increases, and paves the way for government-funded abortion. Not only did Driehaus vote for ObamaCare, but he also led the effort to create a bogus deal designed to provide political cover for so-called pro-life Democrats like himself over the bill’s abortion language. Driehaus conceded to Speaker Pelosi on this valuable issue, and as a result, the health care law allows tax dollars to be used for abortions because the agreement he made is ineffective and inadequate when it comes to protecting unborn children.
Driehaus is known as a “reliable Pelosi supporter” because he votes with the partisan Speaker 94.8% time. He helped pass his party’s leader’s stimulus bill that failed to put people back to work, and when it came time to pass a budget that included tax increases and massive debt, he again supported and voted for Pelosi. By breaking campaign promises and bowing to his party’s leaders, Driehaus distanced himself from the people of southwest Ohio. As a result, it is no surprise that he continues to lose his significant lead in subsequent polls.
We hope that it will be one of the most watched races in the country. As one of the NRCC Young gunsChabot is in a sturdy position to restore this spot in the GOP column.
Charlie Cook’s PVI rating puts the seat at D+1, and respected political handicap Stu Rothenberg rates the district as “lean Republican,” underscoring the fact that it’s one of the best GOP ticket-winning opportunities in the country.
I hope you will visit Chabot at his website, Facebook AND Twitter to learn more about our candidate and the race.
