Mary Taylor for OH Senate ... (The Next Palin?)

While most establishment Republicans are rallying around the idea of a Rob Portman candidacy to replace the retiring Senator Voinovich, some Ohio conservatives are quietly clamoring for an attractive conservative outside-the-box candidate to emerge. That candidate may just be Ohio Auditor Mary Taylor.

Like Sarah Palin, Taylor is thought of as both a conservative, and as a maverick who stood-up to the Republican "good old boys" machine in Ohio. A CPA by trade, she has also proven she can win in a difficult environment. In fact, she was the only Ohio Republican to win statewide in 2006.

Taylor was even reportedly kicked off of a committee in the House for voting against the largest tax hike in Ohio's history, the Gov. Taft / Larry Householder tax increases. Former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell led a ballot initiative against those same hikes, and supporters of that initiative could form a base to rally behind Taylor.

Some have gone so far as to speculate that Mary Taylor might be the fulfillment of Sarah Palin's potential. As one blogger put it:

She was at McCain's rollout of Sarah Palin in Dayton last week. Mary sees that Sarah Palin is 270 Electoral College votes and a heartbeat away from being President. Mary is smarter than Palin, has more experience, is not only not from a pretend state but an actual swing state, and is more attractive. If Mary plays her cards right, she's thinking, she could be VP soon. But she has to become Governor first.

To be sure, Taylor is not known as a prolific fundraiser, and she likes being auditor from what I have heard. There will also be push for her to stay put because of the apportionment board. As a columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes:

Taylor is one of the state GOP's few stars of the future and might even be more electable than the far more experienced Portman or Kasich. But Republican leadership would exert enormous pressure on her to seek re-election as auditor instead.

Taylor does not appear to be angling for this seat, but who knows ... perhaps a "Draft Taylor" site / movement will emerge???

But Ohio's conservatives should still look long and hard at this rising star before anointing Portman -- a former Bush Administration official ... and a trade official no less --- as the chosen successor ...