AP - Strickland a candidate apart from usual Dems

(The Associated Press)

Strickland a candidate apart from usual Dems

7/19/2006, 7:10 p.m. ET By JOHN McCARTHY The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Since Democrat Richard Celeste won his second term as governor in 1986, the party has run a lawyer, another lawyer, a third lawyer and a little-known county commissioner as candidates.

All were career politicians branded as liberals. All lost.

This year, Ted Strickland carries the party's banner. The congressman from rural Ohio has credentials that are substantially different: United Methodist minister, psychologist and college professor. He didn't win an elective office until 1992, when he was 51, though he had unsuccessful campaigns for Congress in the 1970s.

Strickland also has parted with his party on certain core issues. He is pro-gun, having regularly received the endorsement of the National Rifle Association. He embraces coal as a power source, reflected in the campaign support he's received from the electric utility and coal industries.

Strickland openly courts the votes of Republicans and independents that he likely will need to win the Nov. 7 election against the GOP's Ken Blackwell.

"I reach out and I say I'm glad you're Republicans. I'm glad you're here as Republicans. I want you to be part of our effort. I'm glad you're here as an independent because I want you to be part of our effort and I'm really happy that you are here as Democrats," Strickland said in an interview in his Columbus campaign office.

"But I also say to them that Ohio's problems are so serious that it's going to take all of us working in common purpose for the common good to move our state forward."

This year's race for governor is framed by an investment scandal in Republican Gov. Bob Taft's administration. In the GOP primary, Blackwell tied his opponent, Attorney General Jim Petro, to Taft in a series of commercials, and the governor has given Blackwell only lukewarm support.

The winner's party will enjoy an advantage in the 2008 presidential race, when Ohio is expected to be a battleground that could decide the election as it did in 2004.

Strickland can count on his party's traditional allies in labor and law firms, but sprinkled in among his supporters are people and groups that usually line up behind Republicans. His image as a different type of Ohio Democrat has snagged financial support from several GOP-friendly names: Les Wexner, founder of The Limited clothing chain; Ann Brennan, the wife of Akron industrialist David Brennan; James Rogers, chief executive officer of Cinergy; and the family of coal magnate Wayne Boich.

Strickland says Ohioans are sick of Republicans, especially with the scandal that indirectly led Taft to plead no contest to ethics charges. Strickland's supporters believe he works hard, and there is a go-with-the-winner attitude among many of them, he said.

"There's a sense that I'm going to win. I don't say that with any sense of arrogance because I always know it's possible that I could lose," Strickland said. "I think there is a recognition that I am very well-positioned to run a strong race and become Ohio's next governor."

Democrats have lost the last four elections for governor — Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. in 1990, Rob Burch in 1994, Lee Fisher — Strikland's running mate this year — in 1998 and Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan in 2002.

In those elections, Columbus lawyer Charles "Rocky" Saxbe voted for the Republican every time. Not this year. Saxbe is supporting Strickland because "he's trustworthy, he's a man of his word," he said.

"Ken Blackwell has been a very dedicated public servant. I just think it's a time that a person with the leadership skills that Ted Strickland has needs to be in charge," Saxbe said. "I disagree with (Blackwell) on many issues. ... It's been a hard decision for me."

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