Key Race: U.S. House, Ohio District 18
Analysis
» October 13, 2006 | After essentially awarding this seat to Democrats when Rep. Bob Ney (R) seemed certain to run for re-election, we went to the opposite end of the spectrum when Ney resigned from the House and was replaced by state Sen. Joy Padgett (R).
But, recent polling suggests attorney Zack Space (D) is running a surprisingly resilient campaign while Padgett struggles to distance herself from Ney and Gov. Bob Taft (R).
A DCCC-sponsored survey released this week had Space with a 48 percent to 41 percent lead over Padgett; a whopping 64 percent of the sample said the country was off on the wrong track. Despite the seat's Republican tilt, the sentiment for change appears to be strong in this seat.
Congressional Quarterly Risk Rating: Leans Democratic
Primary Results
May 2, 2006
Democratic Primary Results
Zack Space 39%
Jennifer Stewart 26%
Joe Sulzer 24%
Ralph Applegate 12%
Republican Primary Results
Bob Ney 68%
James Brodbelt Harris 32%
Democratic Candidate
Zack Space
Lawyer, Current City Attorney of Dover, Ohio
Public Defender; Ohio Attorney General's Office, City Attorney
B.A., Kenyon College; Law Degree, Ohio State University
Dover, OH, USA
Dover, OH
Greek Orthodox
Republican Candidate
Joy Padgett
Teacher
State Legislature; Director, Office of Appalachia
B.S., Kent State University
Coshocton, OH, United States
Coshocton, OH
Ohio District 18
Demographic Data (2000 Census)
- Population: 630,730
- Male: 49.0%
- Female: 51.0%
- Median Age: 36.7
- 18 Years and Over: 74.0%
- 65 Years and Over: 13.7%
- Employed: 57.9%
- Median Household Income: $34,462
- Families Below Poverty Level: 9.7%
- Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 11.3%
- (of those over 25)
Past Elections
- 2004 Presidential Election:
- Bush (R) 57%
- Kerry (D) 43%
- 2004 House Election:
- Ney (R) 66%
- Thomas (D) 34%
State Political Profile
» Read Full ProfileNote: This list of candidates is not comprehensive. Candidates listed on this page were chosen by washingtonpost.com reporters and editors based on an analysis of their overall competitiveness in this race. Candidates will be added and removed from this page as the race unfolds.
