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Republicans have held position for 62 years
By Stephanie Warsmith
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008
The only certainty in the 16th Congressional District race late Tuesday was that Ralph Regula wouldn't be the winner.
The heated battle to replace Regula, who is retiring after 36 years, was too close to call before midnight. As of press time, final results had not been reported in Stark, the largest county in the district.
Two state senators — John Boccieri and Kirk Schuring — have been fighting for months for the chance to replace Regula. A Republican has represented the district since 1946.
Unofficial results showed Boccieri, D-Alliance, leading in Medina and Wayne counties and Schuring, R-Jackson Township, ahead in Ashland County. Medina still needed to add 12,000 to 14,000 votes to its totals.
With 18.4 percent of the vote counted in Stark County, Boccieri was ahead there. The county wasn't expecting final results until early this morning.
The campaign was among the most closely watched in the country, with the Democratic
Party picking it as a must-win; a conservative group targeting Boccieri for negative, automated phone calls and radio ads; and money pouring into both candidates from across the country.
The two candidates together had raised nearly $2.7 million, spent about $2.4 million and had about $365,000 on hand, according to the latest reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Boccieri has enjoyed more support from the Democratic Party than Schuring has gotten from the GOP. The Republican Party didn't help Schuring with as large a television buy as he was hoping for in the campaign's final weeks.
Both candidates served in the Ohio House and then moved to the Senate.
Schuring has more political experience than Boccieri. He billed himself as a ''maverick,'' who can work across the aisle and won't always toe the party line.
Boccieri, however, sold himself as a candidate for change and argued that Schuring would deliver more of the same.
The campaign turned somewhat personal when Schuring emphasized his lifelong ties to the area and hammered at Boccieri for not living in the district. Boccieri, who wasn't required to live in the district to run for the seat, moved to Alliance from Mahoning County over the summer.
Schuring even had tickers on his campaign Web site comparing the number of days he has lived in the district versus how many days Boccieri has been eligible to vote in the district.
Both have plans to tackle big-scope issues like the economy, energy, health care, trade policies and the Iraq war.
Boccieri, 39, has said he'd like to see a greater investment in infrastructure. He said the area's roads and bridges are crumbling, and this would be a good way to create jobs.
Schuring, 56, would like to see more collaboration between area colleges and businesses and a transportation system linking highways, rail and freight.
The district covers Stark and Wayne counties and parts of Ashland and Medina counties.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.
The only certainty in the 16th Congressional District race late Tuesday was that Ralph Regula wouldn't be the winner.
Get the full article here.
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