Ohio 13th District Horse Race

With Rep. Sherrod Brown deciding to run for the Senate, the 13th Congressional District in Ohio is up for grabs and seventeen candidates, nine Democrats and eight Republicans, became official after last week's filing deadline. I find it difficult to draw very many conclusions regarding the run-up to the primaries in May other than, it's sure to be entertaining.

Two notables will be competing, Capri Cafaro, with a substantial personal war chest, and Gary Kucinich, with name recognition due to having a brother, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, already serving in an adjacent district.

On the Republican side, the hopefuls are:

Ruth Nader Abboud of Hinckley,
Paul S. Burtzlaff of Avon Lake,
Anthony J. Cirino of Avon,
C.J. Delorean of Medina,
Craig Foltin of Lorain,
Lawrence L. Jaycox Jr. of Elyria,
David McGrew of Akron, and
Joe Ortega III of Strongsville.

The Democrats include:

Capri Cafaro of Sheffield Village,
Norbert G. Dennerll Jr. of Westlake,
Daniel Goulder of Westlake,
William Grace of Elyria,
Gary Kucinich of Strongsville,
Michael Lyons of Richfield,
Thomas C. Sawyer of Akron,
Betty Sutton of Chardon, and
John L. Wolfe of Akron.

I've seen racing forms with fewer entrants. So, sports fans, fasten your seat belts and secure your mud flaps. I expect a touch of national exposure and it could get ugly.