Tag: OH-10

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Blog, Paul Hackett, an Iraq Vet and former Democratic candidate in the 2005 special election for Ohio’s 2nd district, is set to re-enter the political fray today with a characteristically bold splash: flipping the (metaphorical) bird to Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich by endorsing his primary challenger, Rosemary Palmer:

Iraq war veteran and short-time U.S. Senate candidate Paul Hackett tomorrow will announce his support for Rosemary Palmer, who’s trying to move Dennis Kucinich out of Congress.

Palmer, running for the 10th Congressional District nomination, has a tough challenge, but if Hackett were to truly get involved, he might draw some attention for Palmer.

Palmer’s 23-year-old son, Lance Cpl. Edward “Augie” Schroeder II, was killed in Iraq two years ago. A former teacher, Palmer says that Kucinich seems too preoccupied with his quest to become president to represent the district well. […]

Hackett’s involvement in Palmer’s race “adds instant credibility,” says Anthony Fossaceca, Palmer’s campaign manager. It tells voters that she’s serious and that, like Hackett, she’s willing to go against the grain, he says.

“And it means a lot more now coming from Paul,” Fossaceca says, “who doesn’t do many of these.”

Say what you will about Hackett, but he’s never too coy to rock the boat.  Kucinich has not had any problems dispatching primary challengers as of late, but this edition is set to make a bit more noise than what Special K has been used to dealing with.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Dean DePiero, the popular mayor of Parma, Ohio’s seventh largest city, said last week that he is considering challenging Kucinich, a six-term congressman from Lakewood, in next year’s March 4 primary election. DePiero, former minority leader of the Ohio House, will be unopposed for a new four-year mayoral term in November and could run from cover against Kucinich.

Cleveland-area political observers say that many residents of the 10th District are fed up with Kucinich’s quixotic quests for the presidency and grouse that he does not pay sufficient attention to the district. Even so, DePiero admitted that Kucinich would be difficult to beat in a primary in the district, which includes most of the west side of Cleveland and the western and southern suburbs in Cuyahoga County.

As the current mayor of Parma, Dean DePiero leads the largest suburb of Cleveland.  He also served as the Democratic Minority Leader in the state House before his election as mayor in 2004.  Should he decide to run, DePiero would give Kucinich his first major primary challenge in years, but it’s not yet clear how vulnerable Kucinich would be to such a campaign.  One thing’s for sure, though: Dennis’ Presidential aspirations would certainly be complicated if he had to spend his time battling in Cuyahoga County instead of Des Moines and Manchester.  I’m not yet on the bandwagon, but I am intrigued.  And by the looks of it, so are the Buckeye Staters.

Race Tracker: OH-10