From Columbus Dispatch: Kilroy to take on Pryce for House

Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Jonathan Riskind and Robert Vitale
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Saying central Ohio voters are ready to send a message of change to President Bush and congressional Republicans, Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy yesterday said she will run next year against GOP Rep. Deborah Pryce, of Upper Arlington.

The race will pit a proven Democratic vote-winner in Franklin County, home to most of the 15th congressional district’s constituents, against a veteran lawmaker who is the fourth-ranking House GOP leader.

Several national political analysts said a serious challenge to Pryce, in a district that essentially was split between Bush and Democrat John Kerry last year, could be seen as a national barometer of overall Republican fortunes in the 2006 midterm elections. Democrats are hoping to make gains in the House and Senate by targeting GOP ethics scandals, the still struggling economy and Bush’s Iraq policy.

Kilroy, who will formally declare her candidacy today, made it clear in an interview with The Dispatch that she intends to use Pryce’s place in GOP leadership ranks to tie her to Bush, an increasingly unpopular war, and indicted former House GOP Leader Tom DeLay, of Texas.

“The people of this country think the country is going in the wrong direction, and in the wrong direction under the leadership of Bush, DeLay and Deborah Pryce,” Kilroy said. “A lot of voters understand that the way to send a message to Bush is to change Congress in the midterms.”

Pryce, 54, has not faced a serious challenge since winning the seat in 1992. Her political director, Kathy Kerr, said the congresswoman would not comment until a potential opponent files papers to run in 2006.

Franklin County GOP Chairman Doug Preisse acknowledged that the district is becoming more competitive because of Franklin County’s decadelong swing toward the Democrats. But he said Pryce’s standing in the congressional leadership makes her constituents “darn lucky” to have her.

“I don’t know that (Kilroy) brings a heck of a lot to the table in terms of national policy,” he said.

Kilroy said she will run as a “fiscally responsible, socially progressive” Democrat who’d push for better jobs at home and an exit strategy in Iraq.

She said she will readily defend a vote this summer to raise Franklin County’s sales tax, which she said was made necessary in part because of federal policies shifting the burden of programs to local government.

Pryce has supported Bush’s policy in Iraq and says the economy is getting stronger because of GOP-sponsored tax cuts.

Pryce has risen in the House to Republican Conference chairwoman, the fourth-ranking leadership post. She has a more moderate record on social issues such as abortion, favoring a woman’s right to choose.

Kilroy, 56, served eight years on the Columbus school board before winning four-year terms as a county commissioner in 2000 and 2004. Opponents have tried unsuccessfully to paint her in both races as a far-out liberal, and although she doesn’t shy away from stands such as her support for same-sex marriage rights, she said the 2006 elections won’t be fought over “wedge issues.”

The district is not a GOP lock, judging by the past two presidential elections. It stretches from Columbus through western Franklin County, and into Madison and
Union counties.

Bush won the district with 52 percent of the vote in 2000, but the race ended in a virtual dead heat last year.

About 87 percent of eligible voters in the 15th district are Franklin County residents, meaning they also are constituents of Kilroy’s, who was reelected with 53 percent of the vote last year against Republican state Sen. David Goodman, of Bexley.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel, of Illinois, touted Kilroy yesterday as a proven vote-getter who can deliver on a theme that
it’s time for a change in Congress, but who also will serve as an independent voice in the House.

Still, “Pryce will be a substantial favorite,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “If somebody asked me today and I had $10 to bet, I would put the $10 on Pryce.”

But Sabato has predicted that the Statehouse scandals besieging Ohio Republicans might make a tough year nationally for the GOP an even rougher ride in Ohio in 2006. So while a wellfunded incumbent will be hard to defeat, “next year I couldn’t imagine that any Republican seriously opposed would believe he or she is a shoo-in in Ohio,” Sabato said.

Amy Walter, House editor of the independent Cook Political Report in Washington, agreed, saying that while there won’t be the same presidential passion among Democrats in 2006, the atmosphere right now is “toxic” for Republicans in Ohio. There are three or four other marginally Republican districts in Ohio — including the seats held by GOP Reps. Pat Tiberi, of Columbus, and Steven C. LaTourette, of Madison, in northeastern Ohio — in which national Democrats will try to field serious candidates, Walter said.

“These are the sorts of districts, like Deborah Pryce’s, that I am keeping a very close eye on and absolutely could fall into the category of competitive races,” Walter said.

Pryce had nearly $579,000 in her campaign coffers as of Sept. 30, according to a report filed last week with the Federal Election Commission.

Kilroy said she will raise enough money to be competitive. She won her two county commissioner races after being greatly out-spent by GOP opponents.

One Democrat already has declared a candidacy in the 15th district. Mark Losey, a Columbus lawyer and former assistant prosecutor in Logan County, said yesterday that he will stay in the race.