I Interfere in Ohio

So I made my first congressional campaign contribution ever today. It was to Paul Hackett in the Ohio 2nd Congressional District. I made the $20 contribution through his Act Blue page. Why? Well, this is why:

The Ohio 2nd is having a special election to replace Rep. Rob Portman (R), who resigned to become US Trade Representative, to be held August 2nd. According to Tim Taggaris over at Swing State Project, the race is within 5%. No Democrat in the last 4 elections has been able to come closer than 30% of the vote total (although the district changed slightly in the 2000 redistricting).

If a Democrat wins in an overwhelmingly Republican district, it could be taken as a sign of a coming partisan wave election. After all, in 1994, the last wave election, the Democrats' historic 54-seat loss was preceded by a string of smaller election losses in 1993 and 1994 in special elections like this one. So who knows -- if it seems the wind is blowing the Democrats' direction, maybe Republicans will begin to decide it's time to retire, and Democrats will decide it's time to seek higher offices.

And on top of all that, I like what Hackett says he stands for:

I’m ready to take your fight to Washington. I’m ready to take a stand on the issues that matter most to us, like keeping American jobs at home, protecting our Social Security benefits, making good healthcare accessible to everyone, and, of course, bringing the war in Iraq to a swift and secure resolution.