Mary Taylor

COLUMBUS – A new guard is set to lead Republicans for the next two years, the party’s incoming chair said.

Ohio Republican Party deputy chair Kevin DeWine made the remarks Thursday during a discussion of the Ohio GOP’s future following two elections of wide-ranging defeats for his party.

DeWine said he sees eight high and low-profile Republicans leading the party in 2010 during a press conference at party headquarters Thursday.

Ohio Women for McCain chair Betty Montgomery called the "lipstick" comments made by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama "disturbing" because she doesn't think it was an accident that particular metaphor was used.

"This is a very sophisticated campaign," she said.

Montgomery and Ohio Auditor Mary Taylor held a conference call Wednesday with reporters as part of the newly formed "Ohio Palin Truth Squad." The purpose of the call was to address remarks that Obama made in Lebanon, Va. on Tuesday as he was speaking about opponent John McCain's plan to bring change to Washington.

The campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama responded to a conference call held Wednesday by Former Ohio House speaker and Republican National Committee co-chair Jo Ann Davidson, along with Ohio State Auditor Mary Taylor, by saying that they got their facts wrong in regard to Obama's positions on taxes.

Davidson and Taylor hit Obama for what they said were tax policies of his that would hurt small business owners. The pair called for less government regulation and "commitments and pledges that we are going to not increase taxes."

Obama spokesperson Tom Reynolds responded to the conference call.

Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin: Getty Images PhotoOhio state Auditor Mary Taylor praised Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin's acceptance speech as Palin proving "with grace and class how she rose to become the most popular governor in the United States."

"By shaking up the status quo in Alaska and standing up to special interests, she has the proven leadership and experience that is needed to change Washington and put government back on the side of the people," Taylor continued. "Most importantly, tonight she made the case that John McCain is the best candidate to protect American during these challenging times."

Former Ohio House speaker and Republican National Committee co-chair Jo Ann Davidson, along with Ohio State Auditor Mary Taylor went after Barack Obama on taxes as Obama visited New Philadelphia and Dillonvale in Ohio Wednesday.

During a conference call with reporters, Davidson said that she was responding to Obama's positions and how they will affect the state of Ohio.

"Clearly ‘jobs' is one of our top issues," Davidson said. "And I have said repeatedly, and will repeat to you all this morning, that the positions that the Obama-Biden ticket have on these issues are not the ones that are going to help the economy in the state of Ohio. Clearly, what we need are those commitments and pledges that we are going to not increase taxes. That we're going to do our best to keep taxes low and decrease them, particularly those taxes that directly affect small businesses."

MINNEAPOLIS - Rob Portman looked beyond this year's election and on to the next two years of Republican politics, nominating rising stars, sizing up the party's recruitment efforts and touching on the gubernatorial race in 2010.

Portman, 52, represented Cincinnati in the U.S. House for 12 years, followed with stints as U.S. trade ambassador and director of the federal Office of Management and Budget. Portman's youth and extensive resume led to rampant speculation that he would be the GOP's next attorney general nominee this year, and more recently was named as a dark-horse vice presidential pick for John McCain.

What's more likely is that he'll run for governor or U.S. Senate, which Portman told PolitickerOH.com in June he's considering, though will not make a decision before Election Day.

Portman wouldn't say whether Gov. Ted Strickland is vulnerable to a Republican challenge two years from now, but indicated that he will be if the status quo continues.

State Auditor Mary Taylor: Politicker PhotoMINNEAPOLIS - Republicans have taken heat for not having enough female office holders, but the Ohio party said its working to recruit female candidates and has a few rising women already in its ranks.

State Auditor Mary Taylor, the only female statewide elected official, said that Gov. Sarah Palin's (R-Alaska) vice presidential nomination helps the party make its case to women they should run for office.

"I think that obviously having a position where potentially serving in the second highest office in the country gives us a role model to point to when we're trying to recruit women candidates," Taylor said.

Democrat Richard Cordray may have an 18-point lead in the race for Attorney General, but the poll is not entirely good news for him.  Cordray has already run statewide twice – a losing race for Attorney General in 1998 and a winning bid for State Treasurer in 2006 – but 74% of Ohio voters haven’t heard enough about him to decide if they like him or not.  Cordray is no more well-known than two other statewide elected officials: Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and State Auditor Mary Taylor.

His Republican opponent, Mike Crites, is unknown to 80% of Ohio – not much worse than Cordray.  Crites served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio (he prosecuted Reds Hall of Famer Pete Rose), but he hasn’t run for office since his election to the Olentangy School District Board of Education.

Sherrod Brown is the more popular of Ohio's two United States Senators, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released today.  Brown, a freshman elected in 2006, has a 51%-23% approval rating.  George Voinovich, a two-term Senator, is at 51%-32%. 

This is Brown’s highest approval since taking office.  He was at 44%-23% in June.  Voinovich’s approvals have also increased from his 45%-31% June numbers.

Quinnipiac University released a poll today showing a majority of Ohioans approve of Gov. Ted Strickland’s job performance, even though many are down on the economy. Meanwhile, most voters said the scandal surrounding former Attorney General Marc Dann hasn’t made them less supportive of the Democratic Party.

Strickland has a job approval rating of 55 percent, nearly unchanged from the last Quinnipiac poll taken in February.

Ohio voters were grimmer about the state overall: only 36 percent said they were "somewhat satisfied" with how things are going, with 33 percent who said they’re “somewhat dissatisfied” and 26 percent who said they were “very dissatisfied.” This is the most negative voters have been on the right-track, wrong-track question since Strickland took office, according to Quinnipiac surveys.