Today is primary day in Ohio and Stark County. However, there are no primary contests in the Ohio House 50th District races (Republican & Democrat).
Notwithstanding the absence of primaries, the SCPR projects the 50th District face off in November between Republican incumbent Todd Snitchler and Democrat Todd Bosley to be the most important Ohio House race in all of Ohio.
Why is that?
Because the Republicans have a real chance to capture control of the House this fall and the Ohio Democratic Caucus knows it.
The Report believes the Democrats have known about the real possibility that they could be headed for minority status in the lower chamber for some time now and have been scouring all 99 districts to find opportunities to offset expected Democratic seat loses in November with take-aways from Republicans in order to maintain their majority.
That's why Ohio Speaker of the House Armond Budish showed up on the doorstep of Stark County commissioner Todd Bosley in January, 2010.
Democratic caucus polling had shown that Bosley was a strong candidate to unseat Republican Snitchler. So Bosley was going to be the Democratic candidate.
But wait a minute. The slot was already spoken for. Realtor Jeffrey Ury of Lake Township (also Snitchler's home) had already taken out petitions. And he was not of a mind to step aside.
Well, the Caucus (believing Bosley to be a much formidable candidate) was not about to let this inconvenience to get in its way. The Report believes that the Caucus induced Ury to step aside.
Ury is now set to be a a Caucus-employed regional director for Democratic candidates. His region includes the Bosley/Snitchler race. The Report has also been told that Ury was being heavily considered to be Bosley's campaign manager until such was squelched by House Caucus director Liz Brown (daughter of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown).
Ury did confirm the former but denied the latter.
Nevertheless The Report continues to believe that Ury being Bosley's campaign manager was Bosley's carrot to Ury to get him out of the primary only to have the idea vetoed by Brown.
Moreover, Ury made it clear to the SCPR that he had not approached the Caucus for the regional directorship. Rather, he says, it was the Caucus had approached him. He also denied that it had anything whatsoever to do with his getting out of the primary.
This Bosley/Ury chain of events is reminiscent the Snitchler/Tina Hagan tiff (daughter of term limited out - the 50th - Republican state Representative John Hagan) pre-primary 2008. Hagan claimed she was approached by the Ohio Republican Party with an inducement to bow out of the primary against Snitchler. However, she refused to do so.
Snitchler handily defeated her, but sources tell the SCPR that former Rep. Hagan supported Snitchler opponent Democrat Celeste Dehoff in the November general election whom Snitchler defeated by nearly 20 percentage points.
Ury, of course, given the directorship will be supporting Bosley. And there is Ury's direct statement of Bosley support given to The Report.
Signs that others in Stark County sense The Report's take on the crucial importance of the Bosley/Snitchler match up is evident in an invitation issued the duo by the Nimishillen Townhship trustees who are hosting the Stark County Trustee Association's monthly meeting on June 17th.
Invitation to do what?
Debate, that is what!
Here is a copy of the invitation:
Isn't June a little early?
It is. But in this race with its statewide ramifications, campaign normalcy and tradition (campaigns debates usually do not occur until - at the very earliest - until September) will not apply.
Both candidates are working at a fever pitch already. Snitchler has quite a few signs out for the primary and is making quite a few appearances throughout the 50th. Bosley is doing heavy door-to-door and fundraising and being a very visible commissioner.
So buckle up Stark Countians, the Bosley/Snitchler political fireworks are about to burst onto the local political scene.
Though the 50th only includes about one-third of Stark County, the outcome is of enormous importance to all of Stark County and, indeed, the state of Ohio!
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