Blackwell may seek GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, challenge anti-gun Sen. Sherrod Brown

by Chad D. Baus

In April we reported that two former BFA endorsees, Ohio Treasurer of State Josh Mandel (R) and Former state Sen. Kevin Coughlin (R) are leaning toward a run for the U.S. Senate in 2012.

We are now pleased to report that another former BFA endorsee is also considering a primary run.

The Dayton Daily News notes that Ken Blackwell, the 2006 Republican candidate for governor who lost to Democrat Ted Strickland, appears to be seriously considering a 2012 U.S. Senate race and says the GOP would be "stronger and better" with a primary to determine the nominee.

Blackwell, 63, said he is talking with fundraisers and supporters and expects to announce a decision next month after the launch of his new book, "Resurgent: How Constitutional Conservatism Can Save America."

"If I decide to run, it will be to win," Blackwell said in an email to 450 conservatives around the country last week.

Blackwell has not yet formed a campaign committee that would permit him to raise money. Two other Republicans, Treasurer Josh Mandel, 33, and former state Sen. Kevin Coughlin, 41, have formed such committees, but have nor formally announced their candidacies to seek the nomination to challenge first-term Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown.

In a Quinnipiac University poll released last week, Blackwell, who won statewide races for treasurer and secretary of state, emerged with by far the most support for the nomination.

Among Republicans, Blackwell got 33 percent, nearly double Mandel's 17 percent and nearly seven times the 5 percent for Coughlin. However, 43 percent either were undecided or gave no answer.

"Josh and Kevin are good men," Blackwell, who sits on the NRA Board of Directors, said in his email. "We would all be stronger and better prepared for the fall of 2012, if we had a competitive primary focused on our records and experience."

When Blackwell's name first began appearing as a leader in public opinion polls regarding the Senate race, he was asked by The Cleveland Plain Dealer whether he plans to seek Brown's seat. Blackwell replied: "I was under the impression that I'm too conservative, too old & cantakerous for another run."

Although Republicans held both Senate seats for nearly a decade prior to Mike DeWine's experiment to see who could deliver more votes (the NRA or editorial boards) ended with the loss of his seat to Brown, the election of Sen. Rob Portman (R) last November marked the first time in recent memory that Ohio was represented in Washington D.C. by a pro-gun Senator. Should Republicans nominate another pro-gun candidate who is successful in unseating Sen. Brown, it would likely be the first time in at least a generation that both of state's U.S. Senators fully support the Second Amendment.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.