According to the Buckeye State Blog (which has really been on fire with its House coverage this week), former Republican Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has agreed to run to succeed retiring Rep. Deborah Pryce in the 15th Congressional District. Petro, as you may recall, was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2006, where he lost to then-Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell by a 56-44% margin.
Quick on their feet, the Ohio Democratic Party released the following press release slamming a Petro candidacy:
News accounts report that Congresswoman Deborah Pryce will announce that she will not run for Congress in Ohio’s 15th Congressional District. So, which Jim Petro will run for Congress?Is it the Jim Petro who was under FBI Investigation?
Is it the Jim Petro who ignored the Securities and Exchange Commission’s warnings that Ohio Worker’s Compensation investors were being ripped off and let the Noe CoinGate scandal occur right under his nose?
Is it the Jim Petro that the Ohio Civil Rights Commission found violated his staff’s civil rights by not promoting and hiring them based on race?
Is it the Jim Petro who was the Cuyahoga County Commissioner? Note: It is more than a 2 hour drive from Cuyahoga County to central Ohio where the 15th is located.
Is it the Jim Petro who lurched to the right to combat Ken Blackwell in the Republican Primary for Governor?
Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy will have plenty of juicy targets to choose from in a campaign against Petro. However, the nickel’s worth of free advice that the Swing State Project gave to Kilroy last month still rings true: a strong message of change in Iraq should not be left off the table.
Talk about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic…
Apparently being the leading law-enforcement official during a time of monstrous corruption isn’t a disqualifier.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rothenbergs of the world had this lean-Dem by March.