Ohio Senate: Hackett's Out

Paul Hackett is dropping out of the Ohio Senate race, leaving the nomination to Sherrod Brown. Hackett has also said he will leave politics altogether. I hope this isn't true, but I can see his point. From the New York Times:

"This is an extremely disappointing decision that I feel has been forced on me," said Mr. Hackett, whose announcement comes two days before the state's filing deadline for candidates. He said he was outraged to learn that party leaders were calling his donors and asking them to stop giving and said he would not enter the Second District Congressional race.

"For me, this is a second betrayal," Mr. Hackett said. "First, my government misused and mismanaged the military in Iraq, and now my own party is afraid to support candidates like me."

For the record, I think that either Hackett or Brown would have won beaten Mike DeWine, and I hope that the people Hackett brought into the process will get behind Sherrod Brown.

It's probably a good time now to look at the things Hackett brought into this cycle, and it's a lot. In fact, his special election showing against Jean Schmidt is probably the singular most important accomplishment this cycle. Why? It set the narrative.

Look, a Democrat can't win that district once election turnout goes over about 22 or 23%. In a special election, however, turnout usually fall around those number. This is often overlooked. We parachuted in around 800 volunteers into that race to get it close. The result is that Hackett's close loss made national headlines. If the republicans are having a tough time in an election that is solidly GOP country, they must be in trouble. That's the narrative for this cycle, and it's been a few cycles since the last time Democrats were able to set the narrative.

Setting the narrative is very important for several reasons. First of all, it got a few of our candidates who had been sitting in their little fiefdoms to stop riding side saddle and step up to the plate. Selling your own candidates on stepping up is the most important, and sometimes most difficult thing to accomplish in politics.

Once quality candidates, which we have been sorely lacking in the recent past, got into the race, the narrative carried forward to the media. Seeing top notch Democratic candidates trying to make the jump to bigger and better offices gave them the impression that blood is in the water, and they starting writing articles to that affect which passes that narrative on to the public. This generally changes the public mood and actually end up putting blood in the water. Its one of those things you can't really see in early polling numbers, but it does show up in ballot box numbers.

I'd like to personally thank Hackett, and all the volunteers who helped him. You've given the Democratic party more than most people will ever know.