I’m a resident of Ohio’s 18th Congressional District. That means that my representative in Congress is the now famous golfer, Bob Ney. The 18th district is gerrymandered to such an extent that it has been impossible to beat the Republican machine. Ney hasn’t had to worry about an opponent for years. He just collects GOP votes and passes GO.
This year a Go to Jail card has appeared in the game. Ney is near the top of the most vulnerable Republicans in the nation. A lively Democratic primary the first week of May brought me closer to having someone who represents ME in Congress.
Joe Sulzer of Chillicothe entered the primary last summer. He began collecting money and endorsements from big name Democrats and had a large war chest to work with. Zack Space of Dover entered the race after the November elections. They were joined by Jennifer Stewart of Zanesville and Ralph Applegate of Columbus to round out the Democratic ballot.
Sulzer had the money and the endorsement of the Ohio Democratic Party and other big name Dems. Space had a very dedicated group of grassroots volunteers and limited money. Stewart ran a campaign based around her connections in education. Applegate just runs for congress any chance he gets.
I decided to back Zack Space, a hometown candidate who began his campaign by signing a pledge that he would not take money or gifts from lobbyists. I didn’t have much money to donate, but was able to donate time to make phone calls and help organize volunteers. Before the election we had dozens of people volunteering their time to make phone calls, walking precincts, and doing what needed to be done to win. We knew we had to beat Sulzer in the northern part of the district to win.
Election day rolled around and the votes rolled in. Applegate finished a distant fourth, Sulzer came in third, Stewart second. Space won by a large margin. He didn’t have the money or party support, but he did have the manpower.
Zack Space now has the attention of big name people in the party. He showed that he had a winning message and a team that could help him convey that message. He is now ready to begin the push to victory in November.
I hope you will take a minute to visit his web site at
http://www.zackspace.org/The web site was built and maintained by one of our local Young Dems. I continue to be impressed by their talent and dedication to our cause.
The purpose of this post is to let each of you know that you are an important part of winning back our country. We didn’t have the most money, or the support of the party. We did have to heart that it takes to work and win. Keep an eye on us. We plan to be part of the Democratic majority in Congress next year.