OH-16: Regula Will Retire, GOP Sources Say

Yet another House Republican has come to the conclusion that being in the minority is a total bummer.  From Roll Call:

Republican sources confirmed Thursday that Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio) will announce his retirement imminently, perhaps as soon as Friday. A Regula spokesman would not confirm the retirement announcement, saying the 18-term Congressman has made no such public announcement.

Regula has long been a prime candidate for retirement: he’s old, he doesn’t like being in the minority anymore, and he’s tired of the increasingly bitter atmosphere in DC.

Democrats feel good about making a hard run for Regula’s open seat, and they’ve already lined up a top recruit for the job: state Sen. John Boccieri, an Air Force vet who has served in Iraq.  This district has been trending Democratic since Bush carried it by a 53-42 margin in 2000.  Against John Kerry, Bush’s margin in the district narrowed to 54-46, and Democrats feel that Boccieri has the right profile to ride the Democratic trend and close the gap.

This will be a top tier race to watch.

UPDATE: Regula confirms it:

Longtime congressman Ralph Regula, whose years and power on the House Appropiations Committee made him a major player for northeast Ohio, confirmed to The Plain Dealer that he will not run for reelection next year.

“I will have been there for 36 years,” said Regula, 82, the dean of Ohio’s congressional delegation. “According to the Congressional Research Service, I am the longest continuously serving member ever in the history of Ohio.”

Race Tracker: OH-16

11 thoughts on “OH-16: Regula Will Retire, GOP Sources Say”

  1. is extremely good. Canton, OH is smack in the middle of OH-16, in Stark Co. Canton has gone through massive layoffs from Timken, who is now Bush’s ambassador to Germany, and a terrible one at that.

    I worked in Stark Co., OH from 1992-1996 and know it as very conservative in the boondocks and fairly liberal in every city of any size.

    I believe that the DEMS will capture OH-12, OH-16 and maybe OH-02 (Schmidt EEK!)—

  3. Ramstad, Regula, Pryce, Wilson, Weller, Renzi.  And, Allard Warner Domenici Hagel.  I think that’s it for confirmed, truly top-tier retirements, so far at least.

    That’s not bad.

  4. On Monday, Mr. Regula will file a quarterly campaign finance report.

    On Monday, State Senator John Boccieri will file a quarterly campaign finance report.

    On Monday, Kirk Schuring’s attempt to mount a Fred Thompson style stealth (“exploratory”) campaign pretty much has to either fish or cut bait. (I wonder if emulating Grandpa Fred’s campaign strategy is ever a good idea?)

    The fact that this is now an open seat, combined with John Boccieri’s support from the

    1. The DCCC,
    2. General Clark’s WesPac,
    3. VoteVets and
    4. Russ Feingold’s Progressive Patriots Fund

    means that while this might not be the easiest pickup opportunity in Ohio, it is definitely the most compelling.

    Electing Major Boccieri will complete the transition of this heartland, rustbelt District from red to blue.

    Yes it CAN be done.

  5. Whoa… that’s a tough one to get your arms around.

    Think about how many good campaign operatives we’re gonna need.

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