In Ohio, Single Issue Democrat Gives Up

Cincinnati, Ohio - 500 miles outside the Beltway

CINCINNATI (Reuters) - Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett, an Ohio Democrat who gained attention last year for criticizing President George W. Bush and [losing a bitter race for Congress], said on Tuesday he would drop his U.S. Senate bid and retire from politics.

Hackett said he was under heavy party pressure to end his Senate race and clear the way for Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown to face vulnerable Republican incumbent Sen. Mike DeWine in November.

...

Some Democratic leaders were unhappy Hackett planned to enter the Ohio Senate race and force a primary against Brown, a seven-term House veteran.

The Democrat establishment must be very nervous about the possibility of relying on single-issue anti-Bush candidates, leading to the current strategy of hoping everything that can possibly go wrong for America does.

Update, Feb. 26th:
"Economic sabotage, whisper campaigns, and threats: How the Democrats took Paul Hackett out"

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