Dean Dozen Mary Jo Kilroy to challenge Deb Pryce

This morning...well, actually, at this point it would be *yesterday* morning (we've got to stop meeting like this!) I saw a diary at MyDD entitled Welcome to Ohio Democratic Politics 101 - Eating Our Young. The diary described, as I expected it might, Sherrod Brown's decision to enter the Senate race, after telling Paul Hackett "I'm not running. Good luck." But what I wasn't expecting was that the second instance of so called "eating our young" had to do with one of last year's Dean Dozen candidates.



From the diary mentioned above:

How excited I was to see a new face in Ohio politics, someone who was willing to take on the #4 Republican in the House, Deborah Pryce. For months, grassroots activist surrounded Losey as their candidate and true hope for taking Ohio's 15th Congressional District. Losey has roots in the republican stronghold of Union County, and has a broad appeal to both democrats and republicans across the spectrum. Enter Mary Jo Kilroy...

Hang on--Mary Jo Kilroy? She's going to challenge Deb Pryce? Cool!

Let me jog your memory about Deb Pryce, in case you've forgotten. She was one of the Republicans trash talking the challenge of Ohio's electors back in January of this year, saying of Democrats, "their party's primary strategy: to obstruct, to divide and to destroy". And also this:

Rep. Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio, lauded Kerry's Nov. 3 concession and his decision not to join Thursday's challenge. "Apparently, such admirable qualities do not apply to certain extreme elements of Senator Kerry's own party," she said.

At the time, I couldn't find anything online about Mary Jo running for Pryce's seat, but as luck would have it, I received an email from Katie Thomsen about a local candidate who had a fundraiser today. Katie used to be a regular commenter on Blog for America, and was one of our local Dean-inspired candidates in the election of 2004. I sent her a quick return email asking about the race. She confirmed for me that Mary Jo Kilroy told her last week that she had decided to run.

At work this evening I saw a copy of the Columbus Dispatch, and it had an article about Mary Jo Kilroy's announcement that she was seeking Pryce's seat in the 15th Congressional District. Articles in the Columbus Dispatch are only available online to paid subscribers, but thankfully, the article is also available at the Ohio Democratic Party web site.
Columbus Dispatch - Kilroy to take on Pryce for House

Kilroy said she will run as a "fiscally responsible, socially progressive" Democrat who'd push for better jobs at home and an exit strategy in Iraq.

Sound familiar? ;-) Here's more:

Kilroy, 56, served eight years on the Columbus school board before winning four-year terms as a county commissioner in 2000 and 2004. Opponents have tried unsuccessfully to paint her in both races as a far-out liberal, and although she doesn't shy away from stands such as her support for same-sex marriage rights, she said the 2006 elections won't be fought over "wedge issues."

The district is not a GOP lock, judging by the past two presidential elections. It stretches from Columbus through western Franklin County, and into Madison and Union counties.

Bush won the district with 52 percent of the vote in 2000, but the race ended in a virtual dead heat last year.

About 87 percent of eligible voters in the 15 th district are Franklin County residents, meaning they also are constituents of Kilroy's, who was reelected with 53 percent of the vote last year against Republican state Sen. David Goodman, of Bexley.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel, of Illinois, touted Kilroy yesterday as a proven vote-getter who can deliver on a theme that it's time for a change in Congress, but who also will serve as an independent voice in the House.

Read the rest of the article here.


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