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Ohio House Republicans Are Still in Deep Trouble - Here's Why

By The Pullins Group LLC

Let me say this first, I have great regard for my State Representative Margaret Ann Ruhl.  She's one of the nicest ladies I know.  She's great at getting elected and operating a public office.  She volunteers tirelessly for our party and our candidates.

But she's a lousy fundraiser.  The lousiest I've ever met.

A few years ago while serving as Chairman of the Knox County Republican Party, I requested that each countywide elected official either donate or raise a minimum of $500.00 per year for the local party.  Most either agreed to or quickly wrote the party checks.  That is, except for Margaret Ann. 

She sent me a blistering two page letter describing how she couldn't afford to do it and wouldn't ask any of her employees or friends for money either.  She was outraged, outraged I tell you, that a party chairman would ask an elected official, who benefits from the party's work, for help supporting these efforts.

Unfortunately, Margaret Ann has now taken this attitude to the Ohio General Assembly.  And this attitude will kill any chance of Republicans taking back the Ohio House anytime soon.

Heres the thing, Margaret Ann represents a district made up of all of Knox County, all of Morrow County, along with a sliver of Richland and Ashland counties.  If Charles Manson ran as a Republican in this district, he would get at least 55% of the vote in a general election.

For state rep's in these kinds of districts, they have one job, and one job only, raise money and give it to the caucus campaign committee.  That's because a state representative can transfer an unlimited amount of campaign cash from their campaign committees to the caucus fund.  The secret then is for the state rep's in the safe districts to raise a lot of money and transfer it to the caucus, instead of spending it upon their own campaigns.

In this single task, Margaret Ann Ruhl has utterly failed.  Heck, she hasn't even tried. 

During the first 6 months of this year Margaret Ann Ruhl raised a whopping $4920.00.  This paltry amount was obtained from 12 individual donors, including herself, and five political action committees.  Her largest two checks were in the amounts of $1.000.00 from two donors that could have given her the maximum $11.000.00 if they had been asked.  Trust me, they weren't.

Margaret Ann managed to raise approximately $27 per day and change in that six month period.  It makes me wander why she even bothered.  I guess she likes being in the minority.  She sure hasn't done her part in helping to change the dynamic.

Scott A. Pullins, Esq.
Publisher,
The Pullins Report

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Full post as published by The Pullins Report on August 10, 2009 (boomark / email).