Rep. Jean Schmidt (R) Elected Aug. 2005, 1st term
Born:	Nov. 29, 1951, Cincinnati
Home:	Miami Township
Education:	U. of Cincinnati, B.A. 1974
Religion:	Catholic
Marital Status:	married (Peter)
Elected  Office:	Miami Township Bd. of Trustees, 1989-2000; OH House of Reps., 2000-04.
Professional Career:	Branch mgr., Midwest Savings Assoc., 1971-78; Fitness instructor, Elaine Powers, 1984-86; Teacher, 1986-90.
DC Office	238 CHOB20515, 202-225-3164
State Offices	Batavia, 513-732-2948; Cincinnati, 513-791-0381.
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The most Republican major metro area in the nation over the longest time span has been Cincinnati. Back in the 1850s, when Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin here, Cincinnati was an island of German, pro-Union, Republican sentiment in a Southern, Democratic, pro-slavery sea. Later Cincinnati attracted fewer southern and eastern European immigrants than Great Lakes industrial cities like Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago; its ethnic character (like its physical appearance) and its political preference have remained pretty well fixed. Even many of the Appalachians here are Republicans, from Civil War Republican counties in the hills. Democratic constituencies here never got very large: economically, it was never a strong CIO town; culturally, it is home to a strong anti-pornography movement that was the site of obscenity charges filed against Hustler publisher Larry Flynt. The local Republican record remains intact: It was the only million-plus metro area that George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole carried by more than 50% in 1992 and 1996, and George W. Bush twice won it handily.

For 140 years after 1852, Cincinnati and surrounding Hamilton County were divided by a north-south line into two congressional districts. But by 1990 Hamilton County no longer had enough people for two full districts, and today both the Cincinnati-based districts include territory in other counties. Ohio's 2d Congressional District includes the eastern edge of Cincinnati and the boutiques of Hyde Park Square, a more transient area than the west side neighborhoods; the mostly affluent suburbs of eastern Hamilton County; and the fast-growing suburbs of Clermont County and southern Warren County. In Clermont, Miami Township has become a bedroom community and a center of commercial development along the I-275 loop. The district also includes counties farther east on the Ohio River, all the way to the old industrial city of Portsmouth and the hills of rural Pike County, the site of a former nuclear weapons facility that the Energy Department is converting to a long-term storage facility for the waste. These are very different areas. The metropolitan parts of the district, with 77% of its people, are mostly affluent and politically very Republican. The counties farther east are less well off, though there was some growth here in the 1990s. Portsmouth, however, has a depressed economy and an Appalachian frame of mind. They are close to marginal in most elections, and Pike County has an historical Democratic tradition, though Bush won each of these counties in his reelection. Overall, this is a very Republican district, 64% for Bush in 2004.

The seat from the 2d District was temporarily vacant following the April 2005 resignation of Rob Portman, a Republican who became the United States Trade Representative and a member of President Bush's Cabinet. An aide in the first Bush White House, Portman was elected in May 1993 and had been one of the most important legislators in the House, with a seat on Ways and Means and work on taxpayer rights, tax incentives for savers, and lower taxes on dividend and interest income. He turned down opportunities to seek House leadership offices, notably in 2002 when Tom DeLay and Roy Blunt moved up the ladder without opposition, but he retained his broader ambitions. So, it was not a complete surprise that he left Congress, though the USTR post previously has not opened political doors for its occupants.

The contest to replace Portman in the House almost certainly was decided by the June 14 Republican primary. The early favorite was Pat DeWine, the son of the state's senior senator. He had the highest name identification and the most lavish financing, with the help of his father plus the Cincinnati corporate establishment. But his election the previous November as Hamilton County commissioner led many to believe that he was too eager to move up the political ladder; he had three small children and recently divorced his wife after acknowledging an affair with a local business lobbyist. Another problem erupted in late May after Senator DeWine angered local conservatives by joining the bipartisan group of 14 Senators who sought middle ground over whether to end Senate filibusters of judicial nominees. The other leading contenders were former Representative Bob McEwen, who became a Washington-based lobbyist after he was defeated in 1992; state Representative Tom Brinkman; and anti-abortion activist and former state Representative Jean Schmidt, who narrowly lost a state Senate primary in 2004. The contest demonstrated the perils of negative campaigning. As DeWine's support dropped, he made a heavy ad buy against McEwen. The Club for Growth ran ads against Schmidt for her backing of tax hikes proposed by Governor Bob Taft. Conservatives ended up dividing their votes between McEwen, Brinkman and Schmidt. Benefiting from her strong base in Clermont County, Schmidt was the surprise winner with 31% to 26% for McEwen and 20% for Brinkman; DeWine was a distant fourth with 12%. Democrats nominated Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett, but the August 2 general election in this heavily Republican district was expected to be a mere formality.

Committees

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2005 special	Jean Schmidt (R)	59,671	52%
	Paul Hackett (D)	55,886	48%
2005 special primary	Jean Schmidt (R)	14,331	31%
	Bob McEwen (R)	11,663	26%
	Tom Brinkman (R)	9,320	20%
	Pat DeWine (R)	5,467	12%
	Eric Minameyer (R)	2,113	5%
	Other (R)	2,788	6%
2005 special primary	Paul Hackett (D)	7,935	57%
	Victoria Wells Wulsin (D)	3,800	27%
	Charles Sanders (D)	1,215	9%
	James John Parker (D)	663	5%
	Other (D)	280	2%
2004 general	Rob Portman (R)	227,102	72%	$559,338
	Charles Sanders (D)	89,598	28%	$20,152
2002 general	Rob Portman (R)	139,218	74%	$759,363
	Charles Sanders (D)	48,785	26%	$17,189

2004 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 211,489 (64%) Kerry (D) 119,139 (36%) Other 476 (0%)

2000 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 175,382 (63%) Gore (D) 96,027 (34%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Second District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R +13
• District Size: 2,630 square miles
• Population in 2000: 630,730; 73.0% urban; 27.0% rural
• Median Household Income: $46,813; 8.4% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 23.2% blue collar; 63.7% white collar; 13.1% gray collar; 13.0% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 91.7% White, 4.7% Black, 1.3% Asian, 0.2% Amer. Indian, 0.0% Hawaiian, 0.9% Two+ races, 0.1% Other, 1.0% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 21.3% German, 11.1% Irish, 8.6% USA
• Click here for statewide demographic data.