For the 2008 race, no state holds the balance more than Ohio. This state narrowly went to George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004, but 2006 may point to the most signifigant numbers heading into 2008. The Republicans were ousted in the Senate, House and Governor seats. Not only were they ousted, but were filled by scandals that hurt Republican reputation, which I believe will be a problem for the GOP in 2008.Luckly for the GOP, it is 2008, and the scandal problems are pretty much gone. Ohio tends be a pretty divided state, so if John McCain can court middle of the road, or even some democrats, he may just take the state. If not, it is hard to see McCain even winning the election as Ohio is seriously the only the state that can push them over the edge. This is THE race to pay attention to in 2008.
President-
Status: Weak DEM
Electoral Votes: 20
Head to Head: polls tracked after intial projection
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Senate- No senate race in 2008
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House-
Competitve races: District 1, District 15, District 17
District 1-
Status: Weak GOP Hold
Incumbant: Steve Chabot (R)
Challenger(s): Steven Driehaus (D)
District 15- Open
Status: Weak GOP Hold
GOP Candidate(s): Steve Stivers (R)
DEM Candidate(s): Mary Jo Kilroy (D)
District 16- Open
Status: Weak GOP Hold
GOP Candidate(s): Kirk Schuring (R)
DEM Candidate(s): John Boccieri (D)
Overall:
District 1: Steve Chabot (R-I) vs. Steven Driehaus (D)
District 2: Jean Schmidt (R-I) vs. Victoria Wulsin (D)
District 3: Mike Turner (R-I) vs. Jane Mitakides (D)
District 4: Jim Jordan (R-I) vs. Mike Carroll (D)
District 5: Bob Latta (R-I) vs. George Mays (D)
District 6: Charlie Wilson (D-I) vs. Richard Stobbs (R)
District 7: OPEN: Steve Austria (R) vs. Sharen Swartz Neuhardt (D)
District 8: John Boehner (R-I) vs. Nick von Stein (D)
District 9: Marcy Kaptur (D-I) vs. Bradley Leavitt (R)
District 10: Dennis Kucinich (D-I) vs. Jim Trakas (R)
District 11: Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-I) vs. Thomas Pekarek (R)
District 12: Pat Tiberi (R-I) vs. David Robinson (D)
District 13: Betty Sutton (D) vs. David Potter (R)
District 14: Steven LaTourette (R-I) vs. William O'Neill (D)
District 17: Tim Ryan (D-I) vs. Duane Grassell (R)
District 18: Zack Space (D-I) vs. Fred Dailey(R) possibly competitive
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Governor- No race in 2008