The GOP Concessions Have Already Begun

Adam Nagourney for the NY Times reports that the GOP is abandoning Ohio races. Senior Republican leaders have concluded that Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio, a pivotal state in this year’s fierce midterm election battles, is likely to be heading for defeat and are moving to reduce financial support for his race and divert party money to other embattled Republican senators, party officials said. (…) One Republican Party official said Mr. DeWine’s continued problems in Ohio had persuaded them to in effect rebuild a firewall that has now partly collapsed, and to find a state to replace it. (…) Normally, a party would be averse to scaling back its help for a senator in a state with as many as five competitive Congressional races also on the ballot. But in this case, Ohio Republicans said, Mr. DeWine and Republican Congressional candidates face the added problem of being dragged down this November by the party’s candidate for governor, J. Kenneth Blackwell, who polls show is facing a double-digit loss to the Democrat, Representative Ted Strickland. via Matt Stoller at MyDD Bob Novak says A Republican campaign operative with a reputation for accuracy has put Rep. Tom Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, on the list of incumbent Republicans who are ''gone'' -- that is, sure to lose their seats on Nov. 7. via Jonathan Singer at MyDD, who adds: It's a real indictment of Republican stewardship of the House for the man in charge of the party's campaign committee to be on the brink of defeat -- according to his own party members. Not since 1980, when 35 seats changed hands from the Democrats to the Republicans, has the chairman of the NRCC or his Democratic counterpart lost in a general election.