Next Tuesday is a very special Election Day for America. Ohio’s Second Congressional district, a swath of land running east of Cincinnati, decides who will replace outgoing Congressman Rob Portman. It’s one of the most Republican districts in the country, but Paul Hackett, a Marine who volunteered to fight in Iraq, has the Republicans running scared. Really scared.
Want proof?
Tuesday afternoon the National Republican Congressional Committee scrambled to buy nearly three hundred thousand dollars of TV ads in a district they shouldn’t even have to think about (I know because I’m lucky enough to be Paul’s media consultant). Remember, this is a district that hasn’t sent a Democrat to Congress in thirty years. Bush won with a whopping 64% last year. For most Democrats, winning this district would be Mission Impossible.
But Paul Hackett ain’t your average Democrat.
And after fighting in Iraq, running for Congress isn’t so hard he told me. He gets to see his wife and three kids every night. His house has a/c.
Despite the uphill battle, Major Hackett has a chance. A really good chance to pull off what political odds-maker Stuart Rothenberg calls a “mega-upset.” Because Paul is a different kind of Democrat, a Democrat who speaks from the heart not about wonkish, poll-tested issues but about values like service, integrity, and commitment, the underlying values that make this nation great.
And when the Ohio Democratic Party, and the national party for that matter, look for new ways to revive the party’s image in the wake of last year's defeats... they need look no further than Ohio’s Second District. Turning Ohio blue means supporting great guys like Paul Hackett and winning in unexpected places, like the Ohio’s Second.
But Hackett isn’t too worried about the outcome of his race. If he loses he may head back with his Marines for another tour of Iraq, he says. Whatever he does, he’ll continue to put into action the values of service, integrity and commitment that the President likes to talk about.