The 2008 Presidential election will likely be the most intensely debated and closely watched election in our U.S. history.  All other elections, both federal and state, leading up to 2008 will help determine the outcome. One of the states leading the pack of "most watched" is Ohio.

The 2006 Gubernatorial election for the state of Ohio could easily be the most closely watched election of this year.  With Republicans occupying the seat for the past sixteen years, dominating both houses of the state legislature, and all statewide executive offices, the Democrats are determined to reclaim their position in Ohio politics.  It doesn’t seem to be such an uphill battle — the incumbent governor, in his final term, Bob Taft has a meager 6% approval rating and the Republican Party is losing support due to a declining economy and job losses.

The major issues facing the voters this year will be the economy, education, and the social issues that seem to dominate and overshadow many other issues, including gay marriage.

There are four candidates on the ballot: Ken Blackwell (R), Ted Strickland (D), Bob Fitrakis (Green), and Bill Pierce (Libertarian). With the two major party candidates leading in the polls so far, let’s take a look at who these men are, and what they stand for.

Ken Blackwell is a socially conservative Republican from Cincinnati, currently serving as the Secretary of State.  No stranger to scandal, and with several pending lawsuits against him, Blackwell won his party’s nomination with 56% of the vote.  Critics of Blackwell claimed a conflict of interest with his role in the ’04 Presidential election, where Blackwell served as Chief Elections Officer while also being one of President Bush’s strongest supporters.

Blackwell’s economic platform stands largely on the TEL (Tax and Expenditure Limitation) amendment, which proposes to limit increases in state spending to the inflation rate. He has been quoted saying that “state and local government in this state have been spending money like drunken sailors.”  Blackwell insists that the implementation of TEL would help the state to operate on a balanced budget and would end the era of big government.  He supports a marriage amendment to the state's constitution, making gay marriage, and possibly even civil unions and domestic partnerships, illegal, thus garnering strong support from religious leaders.  Blackwell is also pro-Life.