Several previous Buckeye Firearms Assoc. endorsees consider run for Congress

The Toledo Blade is reporting that a special election will be held on December 11 in Ohio's 5th Congressional district so that northest Ohio voters may chose a replacement for the recently-deceased Rep. Paul Gillmore.

Perhaps more interesting will be the primary, scheduled to coincide with the statewide general election on November 6.

According to the Blade, several proven pro-gun state legislators are considering or have already announced plans to run for the seat.

From the story:

[State Rep. Bob Latta, who announced his intent to run on Friday] could have plenty of company in what has the potential to become a GOP free-for-all in the heavily Republican district.

Fellow state Sens. Randy Gardner (R., Bowling Green) and Stephen Buehrer (R., Delta) both plan to announce next week whether they will enter the fray. Until Mr. Gillmor's death, Mr. Gardner and Mr. Latta had been expected to flip legislative seats in 2008 as they did in 2000 since both are term-limited in their respective chambers.

...They could be joined in the GOP field by Rep. Lynn Wachtmann (R., Napoleon). Fellow conservatives Mr. Buehrer and Mr. Wachtmann have represented the rural 1st State Senate district in the northwest corner of the state that makes up a large chunk of the 5th Congressional District's geographic territory.

They appeal to many of the same voters and, at least until now, have been allies both legislatively and politically. Most recently they teamed to champion identical 'Castle Doctrine'' bills in their respective chambers to and give would-be victims the benefit of the doubt in the eyes of the law when they kill or harm an apparent intruder or assailant in self-defense.

Sen. Gardner has announced that he will not be entering the contest. He, Buehrer, Latta and Wachtmann have all been good friends to firearms owners in Ohio.

The Blade story goes on to identify others contemplating entering the race as former state Rep. Rex Damschroder, of Fremont; Wood County Commissioner and former Gillmor district staffer Tim Brown; and potential wildcard Karen Gillmor, the congressman's widow and a former state senator. Mr. Brown has also now announced announced that he will not run.

Additionally, the story reports that Democrat Robin Weirauch, of Napoleon, who twice challenged Mr. Gillmor in the mostly rural Republican-heavy district, has said she may try again.