Democrats Struggle to Hold Northeast Ohio Swing District

With prognosticators like Charlie Cook and others calling for a 50 to 60 seat Republican gain in the House of Representatives on November 2, there are a plenty of districts around the country where the Democrats are trying hard to hold a finger in the dike. Ohio's 16^th District is one of them.

The northeastern Ohio district is represented by freshman Democrat John Boccieri, a good looking, articulate, 41-year-old former Air Force pilot and Iraq war veteran with a pregnant wife, whose unexpected due date interrupted the campaign Saturday.

Former President Bill Clinton, who is popular with working class Democratic voters in Ohio, spoke at a rally Saturday in Canton for Boccieri and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who is also fighting for reelection in a tough contest. But the candidate had to dash off the stage when word came that his wife, Stacey, had gone into labor.
"The baby is now being born!" Clinton announced to a crowd of about 1,000. "You'd be amazed how many times I take a picture with a very pregnant woman and then she immediately gives birth." Another Democrat on the way, the former president joked. "I wish we could register that baby before it's goo late."

Boccieri has already gotten a lot of attention and a lot of money from national Democrats in his race against Republican James Renacci. He was even singled out by President Obama on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" as a first-term House member willing to stand up and take some tough votes including his support for the final health care reform bill.Obama has also mentioned two other freshmen Democrats fighting for re-election -- Virginia Rep. Tom Perriello and Betsy Markey in Colorado. "Folks took tough votes that they knew were bad politics because they knew it was the right thing to do," he said. "My hope is that those people are rewarded for taking those tough votes, and if they do (get credit), I think we'll be rewarded on Election Day."

The president has shown his appreciation by visiting Ohio a number of times. On Friday he was in Charlottesville, Va. to campaign for Perriello. But it remains to be seen whether these trips will do much to help.

Boccieri didn't return the complement when I asked him in an interview what he thinks of the job the president is doing. "I think he passes" Boccieri said. But he wouldn't give Obama a letter grade, and joked that, as a former a student athlete himself, he thought a C was a good grade.

Apart from this race south of Cleveland, there are several House seats in Ohio that appear to be lost for the Democrats including those in Cincinnati and Columbus. But both parties recognize the 16^th District is a seat that could go either way.

There has been more than $2 million in independent expenditures for campaign ads -- almost all of them negative. More than $650,000 has been spent against Boccieri, and almost $1.5 million against his GOP opponent Renacci, most of it by unions including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union.

This is a Republican leaning swing district that had been held since 1973 by moderate Republican Ralph Regula who retired two years ago. Obama got 49 percent of the district's vote in 2008, but Boccieri won his race by a healthy 11 points.

The 51-year-old Renacci is a businessman who owns nursing homes around Ohio and a financial consulting company. He is also general manager of the Arena Football League's Columbus Destroyers. And he served as mayor of suburban Wadsworth from 2004 to 2008.

But his business background is not without controversy. Renacci was sued by former employees several years ago for allegedly failing to pay them. And he was assessed nearly $1.4 million for unpaid taxes, interest and fees in 2006 -- a finding he fought vigorously but eventually paid.

Both men last week visited students at Wadsworth High School in the district -- but they appeared separately in different gymnasiums, with the students shuttling back and forth to hear them. The high school launched a voter registration drive for the students and many of those in attendance will be first-time voters.

Their questions covered same sex marriage, education policy, jobs, the economy, health care, the federal budget and keeping jobs in the U.S. In other words, exactly the kind of inquiries one might expect at any candidate forum this year.

Boccieri said he thinks the Republicans are capitalizing on voter anger about the economy and jobs. "The question is do you vote for something or do you vote against something?"

He remains upbeat about the race and convinced that his is the district that will buck the national trend. November 2 will tell.