OHIO PRIMARIES: REPUBLICANS STICK WITH ALL THEIR EXTREMIST NUTCASES AND WHACKJOBS

Ohio, often called the bell-weather state of American politics, had its primaries yesterday. Republican primary voters, who tend to represent the hard-core religionist right party of the party, decided to stick with the most corrupt and far right elements of the battered state party. Barring the kind of electronic voter fraud that is synonymous with Secretary of State/Diebold conspirator/GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell, Ohio looks ready to switch from deep, dark red to refreshing blue in November.

In a bitter, vicious-- and verycostly-- intra-party bloodletting, Blackwell eked out a victory over slightly less far right Attorney General Jim Petro (who had been seriously damaged by his attempted cover-up in the Republicans' Workmen's Compensation Fund looting), 57%/43%. Petro is expected to endorse Blackwell, although he hasn't done so yet. (The likely next governor of Ohio, moderate Democrat Ted Strickland, waltzed to a victory with nearly 80% of the Democratic primary vote.)

In the congressional contests there were no real surprises, other than two close calls, one for batty laughing stock Jean Schmidt who was nearly defeated by equally right-wing but less traditionally insane Bob McEwen in CD-02, and one for entrenched, crusty, right-wing rubber-stamp Ralph Regula (a doddering 81 years old) in CD-16 who nearly lost his seat to 29-year-old Ashland County Commissioner Matt Miller. Schmidt will face public health doctor Victoria Wulsin, who won her 5-way primary in this very Republican district. Regula will battle Thomas Shaw who scraped by to a close victory over Tom Mason.

The biggest disappointment to reform-minded Republicans (all 6 of them), however, was in CD-16, home to Congress' most likely next jailbird, the very corrupt Bob Ney. Republican dead-enders backed Ney against anti-corruption Republican James Harris 68%- 32%, while insurgent Democrat Zach Space beat DCCC-backed conservative Joe Sulzer. Space is expected to beat Ney, who claims he will stay in the race even after he is indicted on a wide range of bribery and conspiracy charges.

Charlie Wilson, the Democrat thought mostly likely to hold on to the seat Congressman Ted Strickland is giving up to run for governor (CD-06), won a convincing victory as a write-in candidate, despite some GOP last minute dirty tricks to try to derail his campaign in favor of weaker Democratic challenger Bob Carr.

In the spirited battle to replace Sherrod Brown, who is giving up his House seat for a move to the U.S. Senate, Betty Sutton bested 7 challengers to win 31% of the vote (20,236). She will face Republican Craig Foltin (who managed to find 11,323 Republicans to vote for him).