National
Journal Group
Learn more about our publications and sign up for a free trial.
E-Mail Alerts
Get notified the moment your favorite features are updated.
Need A Reprint?
Click here for details on reprints, permissions and back issues.
Advertise With Us
Details on advertising with National Journal Group -- both online and in print -- can be found in our online media kit.
Go Wireless
Get daily political updates on your handheld computer.
 Ohio: Sixth District Rep. Ted Strickland (D) As of June 1998
The first settlers of Ohio came from the south, where the Ohio River was a superhighway through the forest. Yankee settlers came down the Ohio from Pittsburgh and founded Marietta in 1788 as Ohio's first town. About the same time, George Washington procured bounty lands for Revolutionary War veterans in the Virginia Military District of Ohio between the Scioto and Miami Rivers, centered on Chillicothe. In Marietta the Yankees built New England style churches; in Chillicothe the young Virginian Thomas Worthington, who became governor of Ohio, built his home, Adena, designed by architect Benjamin Latrobe. Virginians soon outnumbered New Englanders, and their traces remain on the landscape, which is laid out in irregular-shaped parcels as in Virginia, unlike the Northwest Ordinance's checkerboard grid imposed on most of the Midwest. There have been lasting political effects too. These rolling lands south of U.S. 40 have never attracted much industry; most people here speak with an accent that sounds southern to northern Ohioans; they retain, with conservative cultural attitudes, a Democratic heritage that manifests itself on occasion. It was one sign of the shrewdness of Bill Clinton's campaigning instincts that the 1992 Clinton-Gore bus trip out of the New York convention went through just this part of Ohio, and that Clinton returned in 1996, carrying Ohio both times in large part because of margins he won in many southern Ohio counties. The 6th Congressional District of Ohio covers most of southern Ohio, from Marietta down the Ohio River to the gritty industrial towns of Ironton and Portsmouth; it runs across the hilly landscape to include part of Chillicothe and all of Piketon, and west over to the Warren County suburbs of Dayton and Cincinnati. It has no large central cities and almost entirely avoids metropolitan areas. Politically, this has been not just a battlefield but a killing ground: in the three elections held in the current boundaries of the 6th District, four incumbent congressmen have been defeated. The first two were Republicans, who were thrown together in 1992 by redistricting, Clarence Miller and Bob McEwen; the third was a Democrat elected in the wake of the Clinton bus tour, Ted Strickland; the fourth was a Republican elected in 1994, Frank Cremeans. Today the congressman here is once again Ted Strickland, who ran unsuccessfully for this seat in 1976, 1978, and 1980, won in 1992, lost in 1994, and won again in 1996 -- the last three all being 51%-49% races. Strickland, son of a steelworker and eighth of nine children, is a Methodist minister, was director of a children's home, and then a prison psychologist (at Lucasville, site of an April 1993 riot) and psychology professor at Shawnee State College. He and his wife have both made their way up as counseling professionals. He once described his goal as "building communities where children are nurtured and educated and protected and cared for." On the third day of a hostage crisis, he said, "I'm concerned about guard hostages, but I'm really concerned about the inmates." Strickland and Cremeans, bitter opponents now in two close elections, provide an interesting contrast of their two parties' propensities toward therapy and discipline. Cremeans came from a poor family in rural Cheshire, worked as a teacher, principal and school superintendent, then started a concrete, crane, and rigging business and made millions. "I work six days a week," he once said. "My message is, hey, you can do it with your own hands. Don't look for handouts." In 1992, Strickland campaigned for more highways and school spending, and for countering alcohol and drug abuse, school dropouts and teen pregnancy; he voted for the Clinton budget and tax package, but against the 1994 crime bill because of its gun control provisions and against NAFTA. In the 1994 campaign he was on the defensive, under attack for supporting the tax increase. In the last days of the campaign, Strickland suggested there might be a need to increase taxes to pay for healthcare finance reform; Cremeans seized on this and ran a last-minute ad that may have made the difference in his 51%-49% win. In 1995 and 1996 Cremeans compiled a conservative voting record, supporting the Contract with America. He was the first member of Congress to support Steve Forbes for president. Strickland, running again, attacked Cremeans for Medicare "cuts" and scaling down the Earned Income Tax Credit, which he called a tax increase on the poor. It was a bizarre campaign in many ways. Cremeans ran radio ads in which "Prisoners for Strickland" cheered him as a fighter for prisoners' rights, opponent of the death penalty, and "a crucial friend when the Republicans tried to take away our gym equipment and color televisions." Strickland claimed he supported the death penalty and had nothing to do with TVs and gyms. Strickland took to showing up at Cremeans appearances with a video camera, sometimes continuing to shoot after he had run out of tape. Cremeans was the target of AFL-CIO ads and some incredibly partisan journalism, such as an Associated Press article in October 1996 which reported that, "special interests and well-heeled backers were generous enough to reimburse Cremeans for all of the personal loans he extended to the campaign, and still have enough left over to run the campaign." In the end, Strickland won by the seemingly obligatory margin of 51%-49%, gaining crucial votes in the counties around Gallipolis. In his second term, Strickland got a seat on the Commerce Committee. He promised to work for roads, sewers, and industrial parks ("good pork" is a phrase he once used) and to protect government contracts at a local Lockheed Martin plant.
Update: June 1998
Hollister describes herself as a "commonsense conservative," and the views she expressed before the primary were more moderate than those espoused by Cremeans and Michael Azinger, an insurance salesman, who finished in third place with 21%. Both Cremeans and Azinger oppose abortion, and they split the ultra-conservative vote. Hollister, however, is generally pro-choice, and she did not win the nomination with the support of the typical Republican base. With a history of flip-flopping back and forth in elections, the 5th District race will be closely watched by both the Republicans, who will try to hold onto their majority in the House, and the Democrats, who would like to topple that majority. The district is considered difficult to campaign in since it is so large -- it spans 14 rural counties -- and as a result advertising time is expensive. Although there is no large metropolitan area within the district, five media markets (including Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus) reach the district. Strickland's easy primary season allows him to start the general campaign with an edge over Hollister who depleted her war chest to eke out her primary victory. For more information about 1998 House races in Ohio, click here to access the Cloakroom database.
The People: Pop. 1990: 570,804; 60% rural; 13% age 65+; 97% White; 2% Black; 1% Asian. Households: 61% married couple families; 29% married couple fams. w. children; 30% college educ.; median household income: $21,761; per capita income: $10,349; median gross rent: $315; median house value: $46,200.
Rep. Ted Strickland (D) Elected 1996; b. Aug. 4, 1941, Luccasville; home, Lucasville; Asbury Col., B.A. 1963, M.A., 1967; U. of KY, Ph.D. 1980; Methodist, married (Frances). Career: Assoc. Minister, Trinity Methodist Church, 1967-68; Dir. of Soc. Svcs., KY Methodist Home, 1968-70; Consulting psychologist, Southern OH Correctional Facility, 1985-92, 1995-96; U.S. House of Reps., 1992-94; Prof., Shawnee St. U., 1988-92, 1994-96. DC Office:336 CHOB 20515, 202-225-5705; 202-225-5907. District Offices: Marrieta, 614-376-0868; Portsmouth, 614-353-5171. Committees: Commerce (22nd of 23 D): Finance & Hazardous Materials; Health & the Environment. Group Ratings and Key Votes: Newly Elected
Back To Top
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NEW FEATURE
[ Site Index | Staff | Privacy Policy | E-Mail Alerts ]
[ Reprints And Back Issues | Content Licensing ]
[ Make NationalJournal.com Your Homepage ]
[ About National Journal Group Inc. ]
[ Employment Opportunities ]
Copyright 2012 by National Journal Group Inc.
The Watergate · 600 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20037
202-739-8400 · fax 202-833-8069
NationalJournal.com is an Atlantic Media publication.
