Another freshman Democratic who rode the Obama wave of 2008 to a decisive victory is facing an uphill re-election battle.
Ohio's 16th district is an inverted T-shaped collection of counties just south of Cleveland in northeast Ohio. The population center of the district is in Canton, once a bustling industrial city that was home to President William McKinley, now an economically struggling city best known as the home of the Professional Football Hall of Fame. The 16th also includes fast-growing and affluent Cleveland suburbs in Medina County.
On the whole this is a Republican district, voting twice for George W. Bush and more narrowly for John McCain in 2008. For 36 years until 2008, this area sent Republican Ralph Regula to Congress. Canton's Stark County is the most reliably Democratic part of the district in most elections today.
The 2008 open seat contest to succeed Regula drew the interest of both national parties. The Democratic nominee was State Senator John Boccieri, an Air Force reservist who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Boccieri campaigned as a moderate and outraised his Republican foe, fellow State Senator Kirk Schuring. Boccieri won the long-time Republican district 55%-45%, losing in only one of the district's counties.
During his first term, Boccieri supported the Obama stimulus package and the controversial cap and trade legislation. After initially opposing Obama's health care bill, in March Boccieri announced that he would vote to support the final bill. At the time of his 11th hour conversion, Boccieri stated, "I'm not worried about the election. I'm worried about doing what's right."
Boccieri's last minute change of heart did not sit well with 16th district conservatives and Boccieri became a major GOP target. Four Republicans ran in the May GOP primary. In a tight race, businessman and Wadsworth Mayor Jim Renacci defeated Ashland County Commissioner Matt Miller by a margin of 6,000 votes.
Renacci is running on conservative principles and is hammering Boccieri for his support of the unpopular Obama agenda. The race has turned negative with Boccieri making an issue of various lawsuits filed both by Renacci and his companies and against Renacci and his companies. The two candidates are on a nearly equal financial playing field and Renacci has deep pockets to reach into should the need arise. A recently released GOP poll showed Boccieri trailing 49%-35% among likely voters, an extremely weak showing for any incumbent.
2010 is shaping up to be a strong Republican year in the Buckeye State, with Republican candidates consistently leading in polls in the Ohio Governor's race and the Ohio Senate race. With the top of his ticket dragging him down and the historic preference of this region's voters for the GOP, Boccieri appears to be quite vulnerable in November.
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