There are two Republican candidates in this race – Jon Husted and Sandra “Sandy” O’Brien.  Husted is a state senator, and former state representative.  O’Brien is the Ashtabula County Auditor.

At a recent candidate debate, Husted and O’Brien sparred over who, this being a Republican primary it’s what one does, was the more conservative candidate.  They jousted over taxes, elections, redistricting, and lastly campaign finance.  It was on the issue of campaign finance, or more specifically disclosure that a very interesting contrast was brought to light.

He supports requiring greater disclosure by corporations in their political advertisements and has introduced legislation to require that. O’Brien said shareholders should be allowed to vote before a corporation gives money to a candidate.

The “He” in the above quote refers to Jon Husted.  As Secretary of State, Husted said he supports increased disclosure to the public of who is paying for what. A very admirable and seemingly sensible goal.  He backs it up with legislation that he introduced to accomplish just that.  O’Brien on the other hand takes a slightly different approach – an approach that is immensely popular with the more progressive branch of the Democratic party – which is to require share holders to sign off on a company’s political activities.  It’s an interesting approach, but not sure if it’s one that a GOP primary is quite ready for.

Regardless of the outcome, Democrat Maryellen O’Shaughnessy is waiting for the winner of the May 4th primary.

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, on Wednesday, Jan. 20, announced that he has more than $2 million on hand in his campaign fund for the secretary of state’s race.

“This is evidence that support for my campaign for Secretary of State continues to grow,” Husted, a former House speaker, said in a press release.

Maybe Ohio voters remember previous elections where the Secretary of State’s office played a less than neutral role in elections. Maybe they remember Joe the Plumber. There are a number of states in 2010 with SOS races that carry implications beyond run of the mill state elections.  You can read the rest of the story here.  You can learn more about Jon Husted here.

Truth-o-meter

First, is Texas Democrat attorney general candidate Barbara Ann Radnofsky gets torched by the Austin American Statesman’s truth-o-meter for claiming with zero factual, or even anecdotal backup, to her claim that the attorney general’s office requires rape victims to pay for their own rape kit.  From the Austin American Statesman:

We wondered whether Radnofsky’s statement was true. This is what we found:

Under current state law, sexual assault victims in Texas should never have to pay for their forensic exams, which are done by medical professionals to collect physical evidence for the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault suspects. Local law enforcement agencies are responsible for paying hospitals for rape kits in cases in which the victims report the crimes. Those agencies can seek reimbursement of up to $700 through the Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund, which is administered by the attorney general’s office. If a victim chooses not to report the crime, the Texas Department of Public Safety is responsible for paying for the exam and getting reimbursement from the fund.

Come on Radnofsky – Texas deserves better than what you’re delivering.

The next gem comes from Connecticut in what appears to be have been generated from some Democrat on Democrat interaction regarding whether or not Democrat Secretary of State, and now attorney general candidate Susan Bysiewicz (you can say that again) meets the basic requirements to serve as Connecticut’s next attorney general.  The Hartford Courant’s Capitol Watch Blog reported:

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz’s legal qualifications to run for state attorney general – a candidacy she formally announced Wednesday – were questioned Thursday on the basis that, even though she is an attorney, she may not have spent sufficient time in the actual practice of law.

And then a little further down:

State Rep. Cameron Staples, who is considering running for attorney general himself, jumped on the issue late Thursday and said that Bysiewicz clearly has a problem. He rejected the statements this week by Bysiewicz that serving as the Secretary of the State is, in essence, running a public-interest law firm through the supervision of lawyers in the office.

“That’s like saying the CEO of a corporation, who has a law degree, practices law just because there’s a law department in the corporation,” Staples said. “The Secretary of the State’s office, with all due respect, is not a law office. She is the CEO of the office. She’s not the lawyer in charge of the lawyers.”

In the same way, Staples said, a mayor of any town does not directly oversee the lawyers on a daily basis. That would be the job of the town attorney, and the mayor could not be considered as practicing law, he said.

“That does not meet the standard of the statute as I read it,” Staples said Thursday night. “Overseeing lawyers in an administrative capacity is not practicing law. I think she’s got a problem. I think she needs to look at another office.”

He added, “This is what happens when you choose your office without reading the requirements.”

That last line was really a harsh ding – but hey all’s fair when you have an open seat and a contested primary.  And yes – what makes it even more fun is that this just isn’t a blog story – it’s generating T.V. news coverage as well.

UPDATE ON THE BYSIEWICZ STORY:  According to this article, she’s doing her level best to keep this story alive and kicking – raising more and more questions about her qualifications for the top legal job.

Last, but probably tops on the national news list, is the massive campaign fail being executed by Massachusetts Democrat A.G. Martha Coakley – she’s running in the U.S. Senate special election against Republican state senator Scott Brown to fill the open “Kennedy” seat in the Bay State.  She’s had more downs than ups in this campaign – talking about her extensive foreign policy experience, expounding on her insight into the war on terror, roughing up the press – just to name a few.

And now, the Washington Examiner reports that Democrat strategist are saying the “bottom has fallen out of her poll numbers” while the the Boston Herald reports a Democrat strategist saying that Coakley’s campaign strategy has been “breathtakingly ignorant” and “incompetent”.  Not exactly the type of buzz you want generated by your own team about your slam dunk election to the U.S. Senate.  And to add insult to injury, Democrat insiders are comparing Coakley’s failing campaign to, are you ready for this, none other than failed Virginia Democrat gov candidate Creigh Deeds.  Cool huh?

Not the best of news days for you if you’re a female Democrat who is either, or wants to be attorney general of your state.

Arizona:

Incumbent Secretary of State Ken Bennett is running for his first full term as Arizona’s Republican Secretary of State.  Bennett’s name has been bandied about in some circles as a potential candidate for Governor on the Republican side, but there are so many Republican names in the mix for that race that Bennett probably has figured out he can have a better impact on Arizona building on his record as a state senator with a full term as SOS.

On the Democrat side State Representative Chris Deschene and Sam Wercinski are up and running.  Deschene is in the exploratory phase of his campaign, more a trick of getting around Arizona’s resign to run law, and Wercinski is in official campaign mode.

The Democrats have until August 24th to convince voters who’s better suited to face Ken Bennett in November.  Truth be told, Bennett will be hard to beat as the sitting incumbent, but that’s not reason enough for him to sit back and hope for a an easy victory.

California:

Former NFL wide receiver Damon Dunn is running not for the end zone for but for California Secretary of State against incumbent Democrat Debra Bowen.  By most accounts, California is a no man’s land for cookie cutter GOP candidates, so Dunn’s candidacy just might capture the imagination of voters across the spectrum and vault him into big league status in a new line of work.  Early indications are that Dunn represents a new direction for the Republicans in California that has captured the attention of the party’s leading strategic minds.

Colorado:

Colorado Republicans have an enormous opportunity to win the secretary of state’s contest and give Republican Attorney General John Suthers some statewide company with election law expert Scott Gessler.  Gessler fits Colorado perfectly, and has already mounted a credible campaign against incumbent Democrat Bernie Buescher who was appointed by Democrat Governor Bill Ritter to fill a vacancy created when Republican Mike Coffman was elected to the U.S. House in 2008.

This isn’t the first time we’ve written about Scott Gessler, and we’re pretty sure it won’t be the last.

Iowa:

Incumbent Democrat Secretary of State Michael Mauro was first elected Secretary of State of Iowa in 2006.  2006 was not a banner year for Republicans in Iowa, or any other state for that matter.  A lot has changed since November ‘06, and Iowa Republicans know it.  Two Republicans are already in this for this vital office.  Former state representative George Eichhorn joined the race recently and will have to duel with Council Bluffs City Councilman Matt Schultz for the shot at Mauro in the General Election.

The national political climate aside, the political climate in Iowa has changed dramatically, and with a well executed campaign – Iowa Republicans may be well positioned to win this office.

Minnesota:

Not very many states, Florida and Ohio, have as high profile secretary of state offices as Minnesota.  If you don’t know what we’re talking about go Google, Bing, or whatever your poison is, Norm Coleman and Al Franken.  Then you’ll understand.

Incumbent Democrat Mark Ritchie is the crown jewel of the blue team’s effort at funding and winning secretary of state races nationwide.  Their investment in him has paid off huge.  Republican State Representative Dan Severson brings an outstanding resume serving the people of Minnesota as a state representative and the of this country as a U.S. Navy aviator.

Mark Ritchie was elected in 2006 w/a resounding 49% of the vote.  In fact, the only way Ritchie was able to win was with the help of the Democrat/Progressive funded Secretary of State Project.  They’ll be focused on his race again in 2010 no doubt – though they do have keep an eye on the primary since Ritchie has drawn a primary opponent in 80 year old perennial candidate Dick Franson (he’s run for office 24 times prior to this latest attempt).

Ohio:

With incumbent Democrat Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner seeking her party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate,  Ohio is another big prize for SOS races in 2010.  Right now Republican State Senator Jon Husted and Republican Sandra O’Brien are jockeying to see who will get the right to face Democrat State Representative Jennifer Garrison in the General Election.

Husted is the early favorite in both name ID, he’s been Speaker of the House, and now as state senator, and funds raised over O’Brien.  The dynamics of the May 4 primary are far from set, but Husted appears to have the early edge.

Vermont:

Vermont is blue, but with incumbent Democrat Deb Markowitz running for governor, Republicans have a real candidate and an even better chance of capturing this office.  Republican Chris Roy gives Republicans the best opportunity they’ve had in years to win this office.  Not to say it won’t come easily.  Roy will have to defeat Democrat Charles Merriman, but Republicans like their chances at this stage of the race.