In Sunday's News-Herald were two stories from The Associated Press about candidates in the Nov. 2 election. John Seewer looks at three U.S. House seats in Ohio currently held by Democrats that Republicans are targeting. Julie Carr Smyth writes about statewide officeholders not seeking re-election, which means the party in power could easily change hands.

After reading those articles and watching the first debate between Gov. Ted Strickland and his Republican challenger John Kasich, I'm starting to look forward to Nov. 2. While I'm tired of the biting campaign commercials, I'm excited to see how the races are going to shake out. Will Republicans take U.S. House seats from Democrats? Will Democrats Attorney General Richard Cordray and Treasurer Kevin Boyce be able to hold onto their positions? Will the voters who helped Barack Obama win the presidency turn out for Democrats, Republicans or not at all? Will the tea party movement have an effect on the regular election? (Monday's RedBlueAmerica weighed in on that, and, as is usually the case, I find myself agreeing with both sides.)

I'm not sure if I'll be surprised at the outcome of the election, though at this point I have no idea what is going to happen -- nor for whom I'm going to cast my vote. Nov. 2 will be an interesting day, and I will be glued to the TV and elections boards' websites all night waiting to see what happen happens. Where will you be Nov. 2?


-- Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com