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

The first debate between Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and Republican challenger John Kasich tonight should prove to be quite interesting.

The event will be shown at 8 p.m. on Ohio News Network or on the Web: www.ONNtv.com

Strickland will likely allude to Kasich’s time spent working for Lehman Brothers and try to paint him as an out-of-touch Wall Street executive.

He also may try to blame Republicans and former President George W. Bush’s economic policies that led the country and not just Ohio into recession.

Strickland might also talk about school funding and his plan approved last year by the Ohio General Assembly.

Kasich will undoubtedly focus on Ohio’s unemployment rate and the number of jobs lost during the past four years.

He also is likely to blame Democrats and President Obama’s administration for their handling of the nation’s economy.

The challenger also will be making his first appearance to many potential voters, so he needs to appear as if he is calm, but in charge with fresh ideas.

-- John Arthur Hutchison, JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate John Kasich is slated to appear Saturday at the Great Geauga County Fair.

Kasich is scheduled to arrive around 1:30 p.m., rather than 12:30 p.m. as previously announced, and will meet volunteers at the Natural Resources gate and the Republican Party tent, according to the his local county campaign coordinator.

-- John Arthur Hutchison, JHutchison@News-Herald.com

After Gov. Ted Strickland's appearance Saturday in Mentor, Lake County Republican Party Chairman Dale Fellows had this to say:

"Governor Strickland needs to move out of the way and let John Kasich, a dynamic visionary, lead the state of Ohio back to the greatness it once was," Fellows said. "Strickland correctly identified the most important issues facing Ohio, economic development and job creation, however, he and his Development Director, Lee Fisher, have led our state to economic disaster with over 400,000 jobs lost, century-old businesses leaving Ohio, and increased poverty. January can’t come soon enough for Ohioans and Ohio businesses."

Strickland also talked about providing "a high quality education for our kids," Fellows said.

"This is the same Ted Strickland who basically said when he was running for Governor in 2006 that if he can’t solve school funding as Governor he shouldn't be re-elected. Well Governor, you should not be re-elected for many reasons," the GOP chairman said.

-- John Arthur Hutchison
JHutchison@News-Herald.com