Monday, August 07, 2006

Bob Ney Pulls Out of The Race

Another Abramoff casualty:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, under scrutiny in a corruption scandal involving convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, announced Monday that he was abandoning his re-election campaign.

The Republican had insisted he would not resign, even if indicted over his dealings with Abramoff. In his first primary test in a decade, Ney won 68 percent of the vote May 2 against a little-known opponent.

But in a statement released by his campaign Monday morning, Ney said he had decided to withdraw from his race for a seventh term.

...

Earlier Monday, Ohio state Sen. Joy Padgett told The Associated Press that Ney called her Saturday and asked the fellow Republican to run in his place, saying defending himself has been a strain on his family.

How does this effect the chances of Democrats taking back Ney's district from the Grand Old Party? With so many scandals involving Republican politicians and lawmakers in the state, perhaps not as much as the GOP hopes. But we'll have to wait and see. I do wonder what really prompted Ney's withdrawl. Was it really the stress of the scandal or did the DOJ signal to him that he was going to be indicted before November?

I suspect it was the latter.

Comments:
Thank you, another story lead I haven't caught up with.
Ohio seems to have some of the most fascinating dynamics of the whole race.
 
It does beg the question: how many senators will be indicted before November rolls around?
 
PT, probably no senators. Ney and Jefferson are the most likely Congressmen to be indicted before November 7.

cartledge, Ney's hand-picked successor is apparently almost as dirty as he is, with lots of ties to Bob Taft and some other funky people. Check out Atrios for the details.
 
No doubt, RBE. But it looks like Dem Zack Space is taking control of that fight, a bit more dirt should only help him along.
 
Thanks RBE,

I must confess I am not as versed in the individuals. As bad as it is, they can still play it off as just a couple of bad apples in the house.
 
cartledge - you might be right. At this late date, no matter who replaces Ney, Space still has a good shot at winning. I hope he does.

pt, in terms of the nation as a whole, you're right, they can play it off as a few bad apples. But as cartledge can no doubt fill us in on, ohio is just so full of corruption, from the governor's house to the state level to the congressional delegation, that I think Zack Space can really make this election about a) corruption and b)voting for the GOP is voting for business as usual in both Iraq and in the economy (both sore spots in iraq).
 
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