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Mitt Romney supporters celebrate during a Super Tuesday primary night gathering in Boston. Romney won in his home state of Massachusetts, and took Virginia, Vermont, Idaho and Alaska, as well as winning a very close race in Ohio. Photo taken by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images..

Jane Prendergast reports

Ohioans chose Mitt Romney on Super Tuesday, though barely and with little enthusiasm.

The single biggest day in the Republican primary race was as tight a race in the Buckeye State as polls predicted. With 99 percent of the votes counted, Romney had 38 percent compared to Rick Santorum’s 37 percent. Newt Gingrich followed with 15 percent, Ron Paul, 9.

The end was too close to call for most of the night – an exciting end to a day that otherwise left many voters underwhelmed. Turnout locally and throughout the state was low, perhaps because of attitudes like that of Joelle Ragland. She voted in Mount Washington for Romney, but only because he was the least of the “evils.”

Santorum’s “too out there,” she said, and “I loathe Newt Gingrich” because he left one of his wives when she was sick with cancer.

“I’m still not quite sure about Romney,” the 39-year-old homemaker said as she left her polling place at St. Rose Church, “but it seems the best of what I had to work with.”

Mitt Romney won Massachusetts, Vermont, Virginia, Idaho, Alaska and Ohio on Super Tuesday. Photo taken at gathering March 6, 2012 in Boston. Photo taken by Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images.

In Hamilton County, Romney beat Santorum 49 percent to 29 percent. In Warren County: 41 to 34.

In the last week of the campaign, all but Ron Paul raced across Ohio from one town to another, with a few breaks to work on GOP voters in Georgia and Tennessee.

Santorum spent the most time campaigning here – 17 events in eight days over the past month. Female, older and wealthier voters favored Romney, exit polls showed, while Santorum did better in suburban and rural areas, with younger and very conservative people. Romney outspent Santorum in the state by more than $3 million.

A Santorum win in Ohio would have been a major blow to Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who has been struggling to assert himself as the unquestioned front-runner for the GOP nomination.

The delegate totals after Super Tuesday, as counted by the Associated Press: Romney 415, Santorum 176, Gingrich 75, Paul, 47. A candidate needs 1,144 to secure the nomination.

Romney won 35 delegates in Ohio and Santorum won 21, according to Associated Press.

“We’ll get a couple gold medals and passel of silver medals,” Santorum said at his Election Night party in Steubenville. “We’ve won in the West, the South and the Midwest. We’re ready to win across this country.”

Romney, at a party in Boston, said: “I’m going to get this nomination.” (more…)

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Tags: Tags: Butler County Board of Elections, Butler County Ohio Super Tuesday, Butler County Super Tuesday, GOP primary Ohio, Mitt Romney, newt gingrich, Newt Gingrich Ohio, Rick Santorum, ron paul, Super Tuesday Ohio

Courtney Combs may have run into some bad luck in his 13th campaign when he unofficially finished only seven votes behind T.C. Rogers of West Chester in the Butler County Commission Republican primary March 6, 2012. Prior to the primary, Combs had won 12th straight campaigns. In photo, Combs votes on the morning of Super Tuesday at Ross Middle School. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber.

Only one thing is certain about the Butler County Commission Republican primary, the incumbent Chuck Furmon is due to lose his seat that he held since 1996.

What is unclear is if the unofficial results, which have political newcomer and small business owner T.C. Rogers of West Chester Township on top with 11,442 votes or 35.58 percent of the vote, will hold up (results as of 1 a.m. Wednesday).

The other candidate in the race, former Butler County Commissioner and State Rep. Courtney Combs, finished only seven votes behind (11,435 votes) Rogers.

According to The Enquirer, the close finish automatically triggers a recount due to Ohio law.

T.C. Rogers finished with only seven more votes than unofficial runner-up Courtney Combs in the Butler County Commission Republican primary March 6, 2012. In photo, Roger speaks at a voter forum in February. Photo taken by Joseph Fuqua II.

According to the Pulse Journal, Butler County Board of Elections Director Jocelyn Bucaro said a recount would not be ordered until approximately 368 absentee ballots and 400 provisional have been counted at a later date.

Rogers was told by colleagues, who have worked on other campaigns, that the process could take 10 days.

“I would rather be seven up then seven down,” Rogers said late Tuesday night.

“I was up against two long-time politicians, so I knew I had a hill to climb.”

Unlike Rogers, who was running for the first time, today’s election marked the 13th campaign for Combs.

“I have won 12 in row. I am confident but not overconfident, so we will see if 13 is a good number for me,” Combs said on Tuesday morning after voting at Ross Middle School.

“This is a totally different race for me. I have never been in a contested primary.”

Combs has to give up his state seat for the 54th District after five terms in office. He was a commissioner for 17 years before heading to the state Capitol in 2004.

Whoever comes out on top after the recount, they will face Democrat Jodi Billerman of Liberty Township and Libertarian Daryl R. Olthaus in November.

Romney wins Ohio: The Enquirer reported at 12:40 a.m. Wednesday that Mitt Romney won Ohio on Super Tuesday. With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Romney had 38 percent of the vote (451,972 votes) and Rick Santorum had 37 percent of the vote (439,932 votes. Newt Gingrich was third with 15 percent and Ron Paul was fourth with 9 percent. More on the story visit Cincinnati.com.

Swain takes Clerk of Courts primary: Incumbent Mary Swain has defeated former deputy clerk Jeff Wyrick in the county clerks race. Swain finished with 60.8 percent of the vote, while Wyrick finished with 39 percent. In January of 2011, Swain narrowly defeated Wyrick in a vote administered by the Butler County Republican Party. Swain took over the position left vacant by Cindy Carpenter, who was appointed as a county commissioner.

Mandel cruises to primary win: Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel easily won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. He will have to face Democrat Sherrod Brown in November. A recent poll released by Quinnipiac University, showed that Brown leads Mandel 48 percent to 35 percent.

Boehner defeats Lewis by wide margin: The most convincing Super Tuesday win may have been House Speaker John Boehner, who received 83.9 percent of the vote in the 8th Congressional District Republican primary. His opponent, David Lewis, had 16.1 percent of the vote.

“The House is committed to breaking down barriers to job growth, excessive regulations, higher taxes, big government and out-of-control government spending in Ohio and across the country,” Boehner stated in response to his victory in the 8th District. “I am honored that the 8th District Republicans want me to continue that fight on their behalf in Washington.”

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Tags: Tags: 8th Congressional District Republican primary, Butler County Board of Elections, Butler County Clerk of Courts Republican primary, Butler County commission race, Butler County Election 2012, Chuck Furmon, David Dodt, David Lewis, Donna Glisman, Eric LaMont Gregory, Jeff Wyrick, John Boehner, Josh Mandel, Liberty Township election, Mary Swain, Michael Pryce, Mitt Romney, newt gingrich, Ohio election 2012, Ohio U.S. Senate Republican primary, Republican presidential race, Rick Santorum, ron paul, Senator Sherrod Brown, Sherrod Brown, T.C. Rogers, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, West Chester election

Without any local issues on the ballot, much of the focus of residents of West Chester and Liberty townships is on the Republican presidential primary.

With Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum in a virtual dead heat, according to recent state polls, the 66 convention delegates in Ohio could significantly impact the final result of the Republican presidential race.

“This is probably the most important election in my lifetime,” said Mark Hendryx, 48, of Liberty Township. “We have to change things otherwise my kids will not enjoy the prosperity that I was able to enjoy.”

To make a change, Republicans must decide who deserves the nomination and it appears that local voters have mixed opinions of the candidates. When thinking on who to vote for, Hendryx said that he really struggled with his decision. Eventually, he decided to vote for Romney.

“I have struggled with this election more than I have with any other before,” Hendryx said. “I don’t think Newt (Gingrich) is electable, so it comes down to Santorum or Romney and it has been a real struggle, but I really feel that the more electable person right now is Romney.”

Fellow Liberty Township resident Mike Gardner also decided to vote for Romney – citing the electability factor after once supporting Gingrich. Both Hendryx and Gardner also mentioned Romney’s business experience as a strength.

• Early GOP voters in West Chester speak out on the candidates
• West Chester and Liberty Township Super Tuesday voting guide
• Track results and find polling locations on Butler County Board Elections website
• Santorum wins Tea Party straw poll; Romney gains ground
• Cincinnati.com Election Page – full coverage of all races

“I would rather have Newt, but unfortunately the general population will look at his past history and may not consider him because of that,” Gardner said. “Mitt Romney doesn’t have any past history that may cause him to lose votes.”

Liberty Township resident Catherine Brink votes on Super Tuesday in Ohio. Brink voted for Rick Santorum and believes he is the most conservative choice. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber.

When it comes to losing votes in Ohio, Romney’s main competition appears to be Santorum, who won last night’s Liberty Township Tea Party straw poll with 42 percent of the vote (Romney finished second with 32 percent).

“I come from a pretty conservative background and Santorum is the one I believe who will best keep up with conservative beliefs,” said Catherine Brink of Liberty Township.

“I think if Mitt Romney were to win, he could still do a good job. I just know that his background was once not as conservative as he is going for now. I am not very confident in that uncertainty, not as confident as I am for Rick Santorum.”

Opinions of interviewed Republican voters today in Liberty Township shared the concerns of Gingrich’s electability over Barack Obama. However, in the end, many decided to stick with Gingrich.

“They have been throwing up so much dirty laundry that I really think that it is at the advantage of the democrats. I think they have been so worried about one another that they forgot who the real enemy is,” said Bill Walker of Liberty Township. “Each of the candidates has good strong points…in the end, I went with Newt, but whoever gets the nomination is going to get my vote opposed to the president.”

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Tags: Tags: Butler County Board of Elections, Butler County Ohio Super Tuesday, Butler County Super Tuesday, GOP primary Ohio, Mitt Romney, newt gingrich, Newt Gingrich Ohio, Rick Santorum, ron paul, Super Tuesday Ohio

If you are not among the group who has already voted, then you might need to know more about the races on Super Tuesday’s ballot.

For those traditionalists, the polls will open today at 6:30 a.m. and will close at 7:30 p.m. To find your polling location, visit www.butlercountyelections.org.

Residents of West Chester and Liberty townships will both vote in the Butler County primaries that include county commission and clerk of courts races.

Federal races include the 8th Congressional District Republican primary, the Ohio U.S. Senate Republican primary and the presidential Republican primary.

Many candidates on the ballot in Butler County are running unopposed.

PRESIDENTIAL REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

Ohio is expected to be play crucial role in determining the Republican presidential race on Super Tuesday. Ohio offers 66 convention delegates, which is the second-most of the 10 states that will be involved in voting on Tuesday. Locally, the Liberty Township Tea Party conducted a straw poll Monday – Rick Santorum won the poll with 42 percent of the vote. His opponents, Mitt Romney (32 percent), Newt Gingrich (21 percent) and Ron Paul (5 percent) finished behind the former U.S. Senator of Pennsylvania. It will be interesting to see the results Tuesday, current state polls show a dead heat between Santorum and Romney. More information on the Republican presidential race.

OHIO U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

State Treasurer Josh Mandel has the support of the Tea Party and is the favorite to grab the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate race. Mandel faces four candidates in the primary which include Eric LaMont Gregory, Michael Pryce, David Dodt and Donna Glisman. Whoever wins the primary will have to face Democrat Sherrod Brown in November. A recent poll released by Quinnipiac University, showed that Brown leads Mandel 48 percent to 35 percent. Furthermore, the poll showed that 47 percent of voters approve of Brown’s job performance. More information on the U.S. Senate Republican primary.

BUTLER COUNTY COMMISSION REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

State Rep. Courtney Combs and political newcomer T.C. Rogers are challenging Butler County Commissioner Chuck Furmon in the Butler County commission primary on Tuesday. Furmon has served as a county commissioner since 1996. Meanwhile, Combs has to give up his state seat for the 54th District after five terms in office. Combs was a commissioner for 17 years before heading to the state Capitol in 2004. Rogers is a small business owner who believes in less taxes, less government and more accountability. More information on the Butler County commission race.

8TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

Speaker John Boehner of West Chester faces competition in the 8th Congressional District by way of Batavia resident David Lewis. Boehner is an 11-term incumbent who was named Speaker of House in Janurary of 2011. His opponent, Lewis, has criticized Boehner for not fighting hard enough for restrictions on abortion. In the local media, Lewis attracted a lot of attention when he ran a graphic anit-abortion ad before the Super Bowl. The ad, which he has featured on his campaign website, showed pictures of aborted fetuses. More information on 8th Congressional District Republican primary.

BUTLER COUNTY CLERK OF COURTS REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

Incumbent Mary Swain has a familiar challenger in the Butler County Clerk of Courts primary in former deputy clerk Jeff Wyrick. In January of 2011, Swain narrowly defeated Wyrick in a vote administered by the Butler County Republican Party. Swain took over the position left vacant by Cindy Carpenter, who was appointed as a county commissioner. Both candidates bring a wealth of experience to the position. More information on the Butler County Clerk of Courts Republican primary.

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Tags: Tags: 8th Congressional District Republican primary, Butler County Board of Elections, Butler County Clerk of Courts Republican primary, Butler County commission race, Butler County Election 2012, Chuck Furmon, David Dodt, David Lewis, Donna Glisman, Eric LaMont Gregory, Jeff Wyrick, John Boehner, Josh Mandel, Liberty Township election, Mary Swain, Michael Pryce, Mitt Romney, newt gingrich, Ohio election 2012, Ohio U.S. Senate Republican primary, Republican presidential race, Rick Santorum, ron paul, Senator Sherrod Brown, Sherrod Brown, T.C. Rogers, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, West Chester election

Rick Santorum speaks at the Dayton Christian School March 5. That night, Santorum won the Liberty Township Tea Party straw poll for the second time. Photo taken by Eric Gay of the AP.

The following night after Rick Santorum last won a Liberty Township Tea Party straw poll, he went onto win caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado, as well as a nonbinding primary in Missouri.

After winning another straw poll administered by the same Tea Party on the eve of Super Tuesday, could the former U.S. Senator of Pennsylvania be in store for another big night?

With many of the same participants in Monday’s poll as the first Liberty Township Tea Party straw poll Feb. 6, Santorum finished with 42 percent of the vote. Overall, there wasn’t much change at the top spot since Santorum netted 41 percent of the vote in February.

“I believe Rick Santorum is an honorable man whose heart is in the right place,” said David Kern of Liberty Township. “All four of these candidates could and should beat Barack Obama.”

According to recent Ohio polls, Santorum appears to be in a dead heat with Mitt Romney, who gained some significant ground in the Tea Party straw poll.

Less than a month ago, Romney had 19 percent of the vote. On Monday, he jumped up to 32 percent, taking votes away from Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul.

Mitt Romney waves to the crowd after his campaign speech at Montgomery Inn Restaurant at The Boathouse in Cincinnati March 3. Photo taken by Joseph Fuqua II.

“I voted for Romney because I like his business experience,” said Liberty Township resident Mike Gardner. “He knows how to budget money and I believe he has the right thoughts on how to put the country on the right path.”

In the last straw poll, Gardner voted for Gingrich.

“I would rather have Newt, but unfortunately the general population will look at his past history and may not consider him because of that,” Gardner said. “Mitt Romney doesn’t have any past history that may cause him to lose votes.”

Gardner has also been affected by what he has seen recently on television – including an advertisement where former business partner Robert Gay credited Romney with helping him save his daughter.

Surprisingly slipping in the latest Tea Party straw poll was Gingrich and Paul.

Gingrich, who fell from 32 percent in February to 21 percent on Monday, was the only Republican presidential candidate to visit West Chester and Liberty townships. Just this past Saturday, Gingrich spoke at the Back Porch Saloon in West Chester in front of some Liberty Township Tea Party members.

Paul, who is the only candidate with a campaign office in West Chester, failed to gain any ground – receiving 7 percent of the vote in February and only 5 percent on Monday. Ironically, the Cincinnati Tea Party paid for the space used for the local campaign office.

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Tags: Tags: Butler County Board of Elections, GOP primary Ohio, Liberty Township Tea Party, Liberty Township zoning, Liberty Township zoning meetings, Mitt Romney, newt gingrich, Newt Gingrich Ohio, Newt Gingrich rally, Newt Gingrich rally West Chester, Newt Gingrich Super Tuesday, Newt Gingrich West Chester, Rick Santorum, ron paul, Super Tuesday Ohio, Tea Party meeting, VanGorden Elementary School

Jane Prendergast reports:

The Sunday political talk shows emphasized what we already know: Voters could solidify the Republican presidential race on Super Tuesday, and what happens in Ohio is a crucial piece.

Newt Gingrich was the only Republican presidential candidate to visit West Chester when he spoke at the Back Porch Saloon Saturday, March 3. Photo taken by Tony Jones.

Ohio sits between the home states of frontrunners Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney and offers 66 convention delegates – the second-highest number of all 10 states with voting Tuesday. A poll released Sunday showed the two men in a statistical dead heat here.

Ohio’s also a key state for Newt Gingrich, who spent a lot of time here and needs a decent showing Tuesday if he’s going to break back into serious contention for the nomination. He predicted on all the talk shows – he appeared on five Sunday – that he’ll do “pretty well” in Ohio, Tennessee and Oklahoma.

Santorum and Romney continue to criss-cross the state today, and Santorum will spend Election Night in Steubenville.

Santorum has the support of 34 percent of likely Republican voters, while Romney has 32 percent, according to the NBC/Marist poll.

Gingrich follows with 15 percent, Ron Paul with 13.

Paul acknowledged on Face the Nation that while he would like to win the nomination, equal in his motivation is to educate voters about Libertarian values. He thinks he’ll win three states Tuesday: Alaska, Idaho and North Dakota.

“But things happen in this world,” he said, “that we don’t have total control of.”

Gingrich predicted he’ll get a “very, very decisive victory” in Georgia, his home state, something the NBC News/Marist poll suggested as well. Georgia offers the most delegates Tuesday, with 76.

He told George Stephanopolous on ABC’s “This Week” that Romney’s “not a very convincing” frontrunner.

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Tags: Tags: GOP primary Ohio, Mitt Romney, newt gingrich, Newt Gingrich Ohio, Newt Gingrich rally, Newt Gingrich rally West Chester, Newt Gingrich Super Tuesday, Newt Gingrich West Chester, Rick Santorum, ron paul, Super Tuesday Ohio

Newt Gingrich was the only candidate in the Republican presidential race to make a campaign stop in West Chester when he came with his wife Callista to the Back Porch Saloon where most of his speech criticized President Barack Obama and how to lower gas prices. Photos taken by Tony Jones on March 3, 2012.

The Liberty Township Tea Party will administer its second Republican presidential primary straw poll when it meets Monday at 7 p.m. at VanGorden Elementary on the eve of Super Tuesday.

On Feb. 6, the Tea Party’s first straw poll showed significant support for Rick Santorum. At that time, Santorum had just recently behind Mitt Romney in the Nevada caucus and in primaries in Florida, South Carolina and New Hampshire.

After receiving 41 percent of the local Tea Party’s straw poll, Santorum won caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado, as well as a nonbinding primary in Missouri the following night.

Newt Gingrich, who was the only candidate to make a campaign stop in West Chester or Liberty Township, finished with 32 percent of the vote in the Tea Party’s February straw poll. Romney finished with 19 percent of the vote, while Ron Paul had 7 percent.

Like Gingrich, Paul’s support may grow in the second straw poll considering the candidate now has a campaign office in West Chester.

Also at tonight’s Tea Party meeting, Miami University economics professor Rich Hart will talk about President Barak Obama’s stimulus program.

Hart will focus on the economics of the stimulus program and why he believes it had to fail. Hart has joined others from around the country calling for the repeal of the president’s health care reforms.

Along with Hart, Ken Korn will present “Four Minutes with our Forefathers,” an ongoing series that looks at the United States constitution and why it is important.

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Tags: Tags: Butler County Board of Elections, Callista Gingrich, Four Minutes with our Forefathers, GOP primary Ohio, Ken Korn, Liberty Township Tea Party, Liberty Township zoning, Liberty Township zoning meetings, Mitt Romney, newt gingrich, Newt Gingrich Ohio, Newt Gingrich rally, Newt Gingrich rally West Chester, Newt Gingrich Super Tuesday, Newt Gingrich West Chester, Rick Santorum, ron paul, Super Tuesday Ohio, Tea Party meeting, VanGorden Elementary School

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

Life in Republicanland isn’t what it used to be.

Here in Butler County – home to House Speaker John Boehner, a county so Republican the Democrats didn’t even bother to challenge him this year – the 2012 landscape is a far cry from 2008, much less elections before that.

Unemployment is 7.9 percent, compared to 5.1 percent in March, 2008. Nearly one in ten families live in poverty now. The days are gone when subdivisions were rising at every farm and commercial developments were exploding.

A look at how the economy has changed and Enquirer interviews with voters shows that Republicans and conservatives are looking for a candidate to bail them out of hard times.

They are divided on which candidate will do that, and that’s important: whoever wins Republican-rich Butler County on March 6 could take a big leap toward winning Ohio. In the 2008 primary, more Republican votes were cast in Butler County than in all but five other counties.

They aren’t particularly enthusiastic about any candidate, which could haunt Republicans on Nov. 6.

They see a field of candidates who may not be electable and who all have deep flaws – too many wives, too many negative ads, too young, too old.

But they are sure of one thing: Getting rid of President Obama is the cure to what ails Butler County.

“Do I think that there’s going to be some radical shift that Butler County can no longer be counted as a great conservative bastion? Absolutely not,” said Dave Kern, head of the Butler County Republican party.

‘The lesser of two evils’

Bill Langdon, 64, owns the Grand Ole Pub (GOP for short) in West Chester Township.

Langdon and his wife Pat opened their bar on Princeton-Glendale Road about 16 months ago. He calls it an “American pub” although it’s known as a gathering spot for conservatives.

Photos of all the U.S. Presidents get equal billing on a rear wall of the pub, no matter their political party. But there are a couple tell-tale signs which way the politics lean here. (more…)

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Tags: Tags: GOP, Grand Ole Pub, Grand Ole Pub West Chester Ohio, Mitt Romney, newt gingrich, Rick Santorum, ron paul

Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Jessica Brown stopped by Ron Paul supporter’s West Chester campaign office Monday night to find out why the GOP presidential candidate draws such a passionate following.

While there, Brown saw roughly 50 Ron Paul supporters gathered in a room full of long tables and homemade Ron Paul signs along the wall.

Brown writes:

(Organizer Tara) Menkhaus made sure to point out that everything I saw there, the signs, the leaflets, was paid for out of pocket by the local volunteers. Paul’s national campaign doesn’t have anyone on the ground here yet. Rumor at the office Monday was that he doesn’t plan to come to Ohio before the March 6 Primary. (The campaign has only told the Enquirer there are no current plans in Ohio).

But Paul supporters here have mobilized in spite of that. They’re manufacturing Paul gear in low-budget ways. One group was hand-painting signs. Another was converting 2008 Paul signs to 2012 signs.

Why are they so passionate?

“Because it’s the truth, not what sounds good,” said Menkhaus of Paul’s message of limited government and personal liberty. “It’s what we know is good because it’s based on logic, fact and history. It’s because the nature of being human is being free.”

Brown also asked other Paul supporters for their reasoning for joining the campaign. For the entire story, visit Cincinnati.com’s story “Why do people like Ron Paul.”

For more information about the Ron Paul campaign in Ohio, go to www.ohioforronpaul.com or www.facebook.com/RP2012OH.

Posted in: Election, News |

Tags: Tags: GOP, GOP primary, presidential candidate, ron paul, Ron Paul campaign office, Ron Paul Ohio, Ron Paul supporters, Ron Paul West Chester, Ron Paul West Chester campaign office, Super Tuesday Ohio, Tara Menkaus

Pam Jones of West Chester answers questions before the West Chester Tea Party Butler County Clerk of Court and Commissioner Candidate Forum night at Lakota West Freshman High School Thursday February 9, 2012 in Liberty Township. The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II

Howard Wilkinson reports:

Two years ago, the tea party movement in Ohio was a force to be reckoned with, an army of thousands of volunteers who went out and worked to turn Democrats out of Congress and fill the statehouse with conservative Republicans.

Today, it is a deeply divided movement.

With a primary election in Ohio where they could influence the Republicans’ choice of a nominee to defeat the Democratic president whose policies they universally deplore, they are an uncertain block of voters, with no one candidate to back who supports their values.

“I think our people are all over the map,’’ said Mike Wilson of Springdale, who, three years ago, founded the Cincinnati Tea Party and is running this year for the Ohio House.

“We haven’t been tremendously impactful in the primaries so far, and it is hard to imagine that we will be in Ohio,’’ said Wilson. “Tea party people aren’t getting around one candidate.”

It could be that the tea party activists who wielded such influence two years ago could turn their attention this year to Ohio’s U.S. Senate race instead of the presidential contest.

Wilson and other tea party activists in the area say that if the Republicans nominate a candidate who doesn’t excite them – Mitt Romney, for example, who is seen as a moderate by many of them – they could end up spending more energy trying to elect Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel – the front-runner for the GOP Senate nomination – over Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

“I think you will see tea party folks gravitate toward Mandel,’’ said Chris Littleton, a co-founder of the Cincinnati Tea Party and the Ohio Liberty Council, an umbrella group for tea party organizations. “That is a race that could get people excited. And then they vote for Romney or whoever along the way.”

A Mandel vs. Brown race, Wilson said, “might get people excited. Josh has a lot of support among tea party people. He’s got them more excited than any of the presidential candidates at this point.”

There is some new evidence that tea party voters may be coalescing around former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum.

(more…)

Posted in: Government, News, Tea Party |

Tags: Tags: election, GOP, newt gingrich, obama, politics, President, presidential, republican, ron paul, santorum, Tea Party, West Chester Tea Party