Will Ted Strickland choose Buckeye Firearms Assoc. endorsee as 2010 running mate?

By Chad D. Baus

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting on a list of potential running mates for Governor Ted Strickland in his 2010 re-election bid.

While Strickland has lived up to his billing as a staunch pro-gun Democrat during his first term in office, the same could never have been said of Lt. Gov Lee Fisher, who is running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

Strickland's choice of Fisher, a former Handgun Control Inc. board member who lost a bid for Attorney General in 1994 after saying "I never met a gun control bill I didn't like," caused alot of concern among pro-gun voters in 2006. Fortunately for the former Congressman, however, losses among wary gun voters weren't enough to overcome a wave of disappointment with more than a decade and a half of Republican rule in the Buckeye State.

If early polling is to be believed, however, Strickland may not be able to cede the number of votes another anti-gun pick would cost him.

From the story:

While political observers say the importance of the lieutenant governor nominee shouldn't be overstated, voter unease is complicating an election that once looked solid for the Democratic governor. A recent poll showed Strickland in a virtual tie with Republican challenger John Kasich.

...The names of potential Strickland picks circulating around Columbus in recent weeks would each add a benefit-some more tangible than others-for the governor.

The story goes on to name some of the potential picks rumored to be in consideration by the Strickland campaign.

Among those who are reportedly being considered are two men with anti-gun records: Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams (member of Mayor Bloomberg's gun control front group Mayors Against Illegal Guns) and Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut, a former Ohio Senator who led the fight against concealed carry reform, predicting that "it's going to lead to tragedies and accidents of all kinds."

Also among those who are reportedly being considered are two men with pro-gun records: State Rep. Matt Szollosi (D-49), a 2008 endorsee of Buckeye Firearms Association who currently serves as speaker pro tempore (second-ranking member of the House), and Rep. Jay Goyal (D-73), also a 2008 Firearms Association endorsee who currently serves in the House as majority whip (fifth-ranking member).

With polls indicating a major upswing toward the GOP among Ohio voters, and on the heels of the defeat of two Democrat gubernatorial incumbents in Virginia and New Jersey, Ted Strickland can ill-afford to choose another anti-gun running mate.

Around the Buckeye state, gun control is a sure loser in statewide elections. The Ohio General Assembly is chock full of pro-gun voters. Gun owners are among the most consistent voting blocks, and the most active grassroots activists. While they understand it is the Governor who sets policy and signs legislation into law, there are still many Ohio gun voters who will refuse to vote for a ticket that puts a gun hater within a heart-beat of the Governor's office, and positions him for a future run at the top spot.

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