GOP sees Ohio as key to capturing Senate

Aids bid to unseat liberal incumbent

September 27, 2011|By Alex Katz, Globe Correspondent

(Page 3 of 3)

Mandel has served as a city councilor, state legislator and Marine, completing two tours of duty in Iraq’s Anbar province, where he worked as an intelligence specialist.

In November, he won his first statewide office to become treasurer after trouncing the Democratic incumbent by 14 points. His victory was set against the backdrop of a Republican revolution in Ohio, as they reclaimed the governor’s mansion, picked up five congressional seats, and won a significant majority in the state Legislature.

Despite the 2010 results, Ohio Democrats insist voters here have already soured on Republicans, especially as the state’s GOP is trying to push through a controversial law restricting collective bargaining rights for 360,000 public employees.

Democrats took to the offensive against Mandel even before the GOP primary, which he is expected to win handily.

They accuse him of using the treasurer’s office to aid his Senate campaign, and they question his failure to file with federal officials the required personal financial disclosures, which remain unfiled four months after the due date.

Democrats also cite a broken campaign promise from last fall, that Mandel would serve at least four years in his current position.

“The only job Josh Mandel cares about is his next one. His political ambition is so strong that he doesn’t care if he breaks the rules,’’ said Justin Barasky, a spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Given that independents make up a majority of the Ohio electorate, the Senate election may well come down to voters like Kathleen Diroll.

The 60-year-old Diroll, who works part time at Paradies store in Concourse C of Dayton International Airport, needs two jobs to stay afloat. “I also work as a housekeeper,’’ she said. “I used to have a housekeeper. Now I am one.’’

She has grown apart from the GOP - “It’s not my father’s Republican Party’’ - but she believes Democrats have squandered their chances. Undecided for now, Diroll will wait to see if the proof is in the economy.

“The only thing you can rely on is voting the issues,’’ she said. “That, and God, of course.’’

Alex Katz can be reached at akatz@globe.com.