And another one gone...Anti-self-defense Betty Montgomery reiterates she will not run for Attorney General

By Chad D. Baus

It appears that the storm warnings sounded on this website in recent weeks about anti-gun candidates considering a run in this fall's special election for Attorney General seem to be having an effect.

Earlier this month, the potential Republican campaigns of former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine and Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien bit the dust. Now comes news that one more high-profile anti-gun Republican has confirmed she will not run choose to run for the spot.

From the Toledo Blade:

Former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery insisted yesterday she will not reconsider her decision not to run for her old office, even as Republican alternatives appear to be dwindling.

Speaking for the first time in public about Marc Dann's public disgrace less than two years after defeating her at the polls, the former state auditor, state senator, and Wood County prosecutor said she won't come to her party's rescue.

"It's been a very painful conversation with myself," she said. "Had it happened maybe six months ago, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it.

For gun owners, this is very good news indeed. Ohio has had more than enough of anti-gun Republicans in state-wide offices over the past two decades, and Montgomery lost hre 2006 bid to regain the office of Attorney General for exactly that reason.

With the anti-gun GOP candidates out, the Republican party in Ohio should get busy making sure that their choice has a proven pro-gun record, or they are sure to see a repeat of the 2006 election, where the margin of victory between the victorious pro-gun Democrat and the anti-gun Montgomery was less than 200,000 votes (approximately one-half million people hold hunting and concealed handgun licenses in Ohio).

On the Democrat side, with anti-gun Democrat and former Attorny General Lee Fisher happy in his current job as Lt. Governor, the party has announced that current Treasurer of State Richard Cordray is their choice to run for the job of Attorney General. Pro-gun Governor Ted Strickland has endorsed Cordray for the job.

During the 2006 election, Cordray observed that "I think it is legitimate to say that part of the Democrat’s resurgence in Ohio is demonstrating that we, as a party, are running candidates who support gun rights. The concealed carry law, which I support, is an excellent example of how the ‘wild, wild west’ predictions were way off base, and it isn’t the law abiding citizen gun owner that we should be worried about."

Chad Baus is a Member of the Fulton County, OH Republican Central Committee and the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.