Phillips-Thompson House race marked as one of Ohio's top tilts
By Nick Claussen
December 31, 2007
The 2008 general election is nearly a year away, but the 92nd Ohio House race between two candidates from Athens County is already garnering plenty of attention and is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched races in Ohio.
Republican Jimmy Stewart of Albany currently serves as the state representative for the district, which includes Athens, Meigs and Morgan counties, as well as a portion of Washington County. Stewart is not running for re-election because he chose instead to run for the Ohio Senate's 20th District seat, which is currently held by Republican Joy Padgett of Coshocton. Padgett is not running for re-election for the Senate district, which includes Athens County.
Democrat Debbie Phillips of Athens and Republican Jill Thompson of The Plains so far are the only two candidates to announce they will run for the 92nd District seat. The filing deadline for the March 4 primary is this Friday.
Thompson currently serves as Athens County auditor while Phillips represents the Fourth Ward on Athens City Council. Phillips ran against Stewart for the House seat in 2006 and lost by 865 votes.
Earlier this month, the Ohio Daily Blog, a statewide political blog that reports on Democratic Party issues, put together a list of the top 10 best opportunities for Ohio Democrats to pick up seats in the Ohio House of Representatives. The Democrats need four seats in order to take over the majority in the House.
At the top of the Ohio Daily Blog list was the 92nd Ohio House race. The post states that the district "leans Democratic" and also states that "Phillips is an intelligent, articulate and dedicated campaigner, and last year's experience will help her this time around."
Jeff Coryell wrote the post for the blog, and said in an e-mail interview last week that while the list of the top 10 races for Democrats to pick up seats may change in the next year, the 92nd District race is currently at the top of the list and is followed closely by four others.
The fact that the race is for an open seat makes it a key campaign for Democrats, he said.
"Phillips strikes me as the kind of candidate who will learn from her first statehouse campaign and perform better on the campaign trail in the next," Coryell said. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's popularity in southeast Ohio may also help Phillips, as will her work in the public school funding reform movement, he said. The fact that Phillips also has name recognition in the counties outside of Athens should help, he noted, while Thompson may not have that sort of name recognition.
"Every potential pickup in the House is huge for both parties. I expect the Ohio Republican Party to pour a tremendous amount of money into House races, and the Democrats will respond to the extent that they can," Coryell said. "There are several Democrat-held seats that are vulnerable, so there is no margin for error for the Democrats. In order to take control of the House, they need to win every seat where their chances of winning are good, and this is one such race."
Coryell added that he attended a campaign event with Phillips last year and interviewed her for his blog, and also has spoken with her on the phone several times.
"She strikes me as passionate about public service, intelligent and tenacious (don't underestimate that last quality when it comes to being a legislator!)," he wrote in the e-mail interview.
"I think she'd be a terrific state representative," Coryell said.
THOMPSON HAS PLENTY of supporters on the Internet and around the state, as well, including Ohio University alumnus Scott Pullins. A leader of the OU College Republicans in the 1980s, Pullins today is an attorney, political activist and blogger. He writes for The Pullins Report and mentioned Thompson when she announced her candidacy. In an e-mail interview last week, Pullins agreed that the race is key for both parties.
"(The Democrats) need only four seats to change hands to take the majority," he said. "(The Republicans) need to hold on to marginal seats like this one to maintain the majority."
Pullins agreed with Coryell that Phillips enjoys an advantage in name recognition, campaign experience and the ability to raise funds, but he believes Thompson can do well throughout the district.
"Being county auditor is a tougher job than most people realize. It is good training for the challenges of being in the Ohio House," Pullins said. He added that "being an auditor is a tough job with a lot of responsibilities and a lot of interaction with the public; she'll do well in Columbus."
The political climate in Ohio probably won't reverse soon enough to prevent the Democrats from retaking the Ohio House, Pullins predicted.
"The R's entire leadership team is leaving and they will not have the financial advantages they have had in the past. In 2006, R's outspent the D's by $8 million to $1 million, and the R's still lost seats," Pullins said. "On the other hand, the party out of power in Ohio has never been able to retake the majority without redistricting the seats. These seats were drawn to obtain a Republican House majority."
PETE COULADIS, chair of the Athens County Republican Party, said he expects the 92nd District race to be close because of the current makeup of the district.
"I'm assuming both sides are targeting this seat as they have in the past. Probably, it will generate more interest than the average House race," Couladis said. Figures he has seen suggest the district leans Republican (though the Democrats dispute this), and he predicted that Thompson will do well in the race.
"I think she has proven that she's a vote getter and can win in Athens County. That's a big plus for her," Couladis said. With Athens County being the only Democratic county in the district, if a Republican can do well here, the candidate should be able to do well throughout the district, he added.
Because it is a presidential election year, Couladis said most of the media attention in Ohio will be focused on the presidential election and not the Ohio House races.
The presidential election will bring out high numbers of voters, and it will be a challenge to candidates on both sides, especially in a college town like Athens, to make sure that voters are aware of the local candidates, Couladis said.
SUSAN GWINN, chair of the Athens County Democratic Party, said the index figures the Ohio Democratic Party compiles show that the district as a whole leans Democratic.
"Definitely, it's a district that can be won," Gwinn said. She hopes the race will be targeted by the state party, but is operating under the assumption that it will be up to the local parties and volunteers to win the race.
The fact that Phillips ran in 2006 will help her with name recognition and help her build support, Gwinn said.
"I think that... we have a candidate here on the other side... she hasn't run in a lot of the district and so she's not going to have as many connections, I would think, as our candidate," Gwinn said.
The presidential election should increase the number of voters, but getting people out to vote will be critically important for the Democrats, Gwinn said.
"I think voter registration is going to be very important," she added.
Regarding the race for the Ohio Senate's 20th District seat, Gwinn said that several Democrats have talked about running against Stewart, but no one has announced a candidacy yet. She added that no officeholders from Athens County have been circulating petitions for the state Senate seat.
A.J. Stokes, political director for the Ohio House Democratic Caucus, said last week that the 92nd Ohio House race definitely is key for the Democrats in Ohio.
"We have a number of races throughout the state that are key to us," Stokes said. The fact that Phillips ran such as close race against Stewart in 2006 makes her a strong candidate for 2008, he added.
"In our view, it doesn't really matter who the Republican candidate is. Debbie is such a strong candidate," Stokes said. He added that Phillips' time on Athens City Council and her work on economic development issues, as well as her work on school funding will help her connect with the voters of the district.
Stokes said he doesn't pay much attention to the index numbers for the district, because so many variables play into each campaign.
The Democrats hope to pick up as many Ohio House seats as possible in 2008, but the main goal now is to pick up four in order to take over the majority, he said. The 92nd Ohio House race will be one of the key races in picking up the four seats, he predicted.
"It's absolutely one that we will be watching," he said.
Editor's note: Debbie Phillips is married to Athens NEWS senior writer Jim Phillips. While Debbie has served on City Council, Jim has not covered city affairs that involve his wife, and the same will apply to the race between her and Jill Thompson. TS
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