![[Iowa map]](http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/images/primaries_45x35.gif)
![[Quiz]](http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/images/quiz_45x35.gif)
Archive: Ohio River Ramble
Wrapping up the Ohio River Ramble
After logging a thousand road miles, Chris, Jim, and Chet returned Thursday night from the Ohio River Ramble, driving back to Washington from West Virginia in a fierce thunderstorm. As the Ramblers rest comfortably, we are left to contemplate what...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 29, 2006; 10:20 AM ET | Comments (55)
Video: Legal Pork or Personal Profit?
Chris and Jim wrap up the final day of the Ohio River Ramble and talk about the race in West Virginia's District 1, where a debate has broken out over whether the Democratic incumbent has used his position for personal...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 28, 2006; 05:25 PM ET | Comments (49)
Video: GOP May Be Writing Off Ohio 6
Chris and Jim talk about how the Democratic candidate seems to be dominating the Ohio District 6 race and wrap up Day 8 of the Ohio River Ramble. On Thursday the Ramblers will be in West Virginia District 1. Click...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 27, 2006; 04:22 PM ET | Comments (44)
"Softer Voices" for Santorum
Posted byChris Cillizza» About Chris MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- One of the highlights of the Ramble so far has been the chance to see the variety of campaign ads running in various districts throughout the Ohio River Valley. Last night...
By Chris Cillizza | September 27, 2006; 02:01 PM ET | Comments (25)
Video: The First Lady Comes to Ohio 18
In their wrap-up of Day 7 of the Ohio River Ramble, Chris Cillizza and Jim VandeHei discuss the race in Ohio's 18th District, where Joy Padgett (R) and Zack Space (D) are running to fill the seat being vacated by...
By Chet Rhodes | September 26, 2006; 11:34 PM ET | Comments (47)
Ohio's 18th: Voters Consider Ethics Scandals
Posted byChris Cillizza» About Chris GRANVILLE, Ohio -- Your Ramblers spent the morning at a fundraiser for state Sen. Joy Padgett, the Republican candidate for the 18th district seat being vacated by Rep. Bob Ney (R), who announced in...
By Chris Cillizza | September 26, 2006; 04:04 PM ET | Comments (43)
Politics and the Price of Gas
Posted byChris Cillizza» About Chris GRANVILLE, Ohio -- The price of gas is an ongoing story on the Ramble. As we've driven from district to district, we've kept a close eye out to see how low gas will go....
By Chris Cillizza | September 26, 2006; 09:56 AM ET | Comments (137)
Video: Immigration Impacts Ohio District 1
Chris and Jim talk about how the immigration issue is impacting the Ohio District 1 campaign and wrap up Day 6 of the Ohio River Ramble. On Tuesday the Ramble trio will be in Ohio District 18. Click on the...
By Chet Rhodes | September 25, 2006; 09:01 PM ET | Comments (12)
Touring Congressional Campaign HQs
Posted byChet Rhodes» About Chet Today I took tours of the campaign headquarters of both Ohio District 1 candidates, Incumbent Rep. Steve Chabot (R) and challenger John Cranley (D). Elsewhere on the Ramble we've seen campaign headquarters in trailers...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 25, 2006; 05:38 PM ET | Comments (1)
Immigration Roils Ohio Race
Posted byJim VandeHei» About Jim CINCINNATI -- You would think we are on the Rio Grande Ramble by the amount of talk about immigration problems in this big-city district (Ohio 1). Republican congressman Steve Chabot is running ads accusing...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 25, 2006; 03:00 PM ET | Comments (50)
Audio: Recapping Kentucky's 4th District
Cillizza and VandeHei were on Washington Post Radio this morning to discuss their weekend reporting in Kentucky's 4th District and Indiana's 9th. Listen to the audio here. Read their latest newspaper article on the trip: "In Kentucky's 4th, Democrats Are...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 25, 2006; 07:31 AM ET | Comments (13)
Democrats Look Strong in New Polls
COVINGTON, Ky. -- Sitting in a hotel room overlooking the Ohio River (not to mention Paul Brown Stadium and the Great American Ballpark) it's easy to feel as though you are at the center of the political world. Posted byChris...
By Chris Cillizza | September 24, 2006; 07:54 PM ET | Comments (77)
Video: A Look at Kentucky's District 4
Sunday finds Chris and Jim in Kentucky's 4th congressional district, where a former Democratic congressman, Ken Lucas, is trying to unseat incumbent Rep. Geoff Davis (R). Lucas held the seat for three terms from 1998 to 2004. Watch Chris and...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 24, 2006; 12:48 PM ET | Comments (8)
Good Morning Cincinnati, or is it Covington?
After a few days of rain and flooding, nothing looks better than a beautiful clear sky. I shot this image of downtown Cincinnati from the Kentucky side of the Ohio River in Covington. You can see some debris piled up...
By Chet Rhodes | September 24, 2006; 10:15 AM ET | Comments (3)
Video: Thoughts on Indiana's 9th District Race
Chris and Jim spent part of Saturday in Indiana's 9th congressional district, where a former three-term member of Congress is trying to reclaim the seat he lost to Rep. Mike Sodrel (R) in 2004. Baron Hill is yet another Democrat...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 23, 2006; 10:13 PM ET | Comments (12)
Indiana's 9th: Democrat Talks Family Values ... And Basketball
MADISON, Ind. -- Your intrepid reporting team is in the heart of God's country, a quick drive away from the raging Ohio River and only minutes removed from a fine feast of fried fish, fries and hush puppies at the...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 23, 2006; 03:26 PM ET | Comments (20)
Will Louisville's Mayor Jump Into Ky.'s '07 Gov. Race?
LOUISVILLE -- Watch the 6 o'clock news here and it seems like every commercial features grainy, black-and-white footage of a politician and an ominous voice denouncing him (or her) as a liberal or a Bush lover. Negativity is the new...
By Chris Cillizza | September 23, 2006; 08:49 AM ET | Comments (16)
Night Time Fun in Louisville, Ky.
I haven't had much time to write for the Ramble while chasing Chris and Jim with two video cameras, a still camera and at least 7 battery chargers. So I wanted to take a moment tonight and put up a...
By Chet Rhodes | September 22, 2006; 10:07 PM ET | Comments (6)
Video: Kentucky 3 Wrap Up
Chris and Jim talk about negative campaigning and local versus national issues in the Kentucky District 3 U.S. House race and wrap up Day 3 of the Ohio River Ramble. On Saturday the Ramble trio heads for Indiana District 9....
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 22, 2006; 05:02 PM ET
KY-03: Local v. National Defines Race
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Back to back press conferences here in Kentucky's 3rd district today typify the two parties' approaches in the coming midterm elections. Posted byChris Cillizza» About Chris For Rep. Anne Northup (R) and her national party, this election...
By Chris Cillizza | September 22, 2006; 02:56 PM ET | Comments (7)
Video: Dem. Says Voters Should Consider Whether Bush Admin. Manipulates Gas Prices
Back to Kentukcy District 2 for a moment. In an earlier post Jim VandeHei mentioned that Democratic candidate Mike Weaver brought up the question of whether the Bush administration manipulates gas prices for political gain. Video of Weaver's statement is...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 22, 2006; 11:51 AM ET | Comments (63)
Audio: Recapping Indiana's 8th District
The Ohio River Ramble visited Indiania's 8th District yesterday, where incumbent John Hostettler (R) is matching his unconventional campaign strategy against a well-organized challenge by Democrat Brad Ellsworth. Cillizza and VandeHei reviewed day 2 of the nine-day trip to the...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 22, 2006; 07:36 AM ET | Comments (17)
Video: Wrapping Up in Indiana 8
Chris and Jim talk about the race for Indiana's 8th District U.S. House seat and wrap up Day 2 of the Ohio River Ramble. Now it's on to Kentucky's District 3. Click on the image below to watch. var movieSrc...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 21, 2006; 06:17 PM ET | Comments (3)
Video: Hostettler Keeps it in the Family
Incumbent Rep. John Hostettler has shown an ability to run and win in Indiana's highly competitive "Bloody 8th" Congressional district without raising much money or hiring professional political consultants. Hostettler has won election here six times, the first with the...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 21, 2006; 05:42 PM ET
Unorthodox Campaigner May Be in Trouble
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- A growing body of polling data explains why GOP officials in Washington consider Rep. John Hostettler (R) one of the most likely-to-lose incumbents in the country. Two public polls show Hostettler trailing by single digits to Democratic...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 21, 2006; 02:29 PM ET | Comments (16)
Ground Hog Day: New Day, More Conservative Dems
It's ground hog day on the ramble. Wake up early, turn on the local news and watch another battle over whether a Democratic candidate is sufficiently conservative. In this case, it is sheriff Brad Ellsworth (D), who is running for...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 21, 2006; 11:18 AM ET | Comments (77)
Audio: Cillizza and VandeHei Discuss Ky.'s 2nd
Chris Cillizza and Jim VandeHei were interviewed this morning on Washington Post Radio about the first day of their trip through congressional battleground districts in the Ohio River Valley. Listen to the audio here. Read their story from today's Post:...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 21, 2006; 08:34 AM ET | Comments (14)
Video: Further Thoughts on Ky.'s 2nd District
Chris and Jim wrap-up the important issues covered in Day 1 of the Ohio River Ramble, after which we sat down for some barbecue. Click on the image below to watch. var movieSrc = "http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/player2.swf?whichMode=normal&justify=center&playad=no&mediatype=stream&postdir=politics&postvideo=092006-5v&cuesfile=none&autoplay=no&starttime=0&endtime=0&largerver=none&image=092006-5v_427&playlistxml=none" ; //URL OF WHERE .SWF...
By Chet Rhodes | September 21, 2006; 12:20 AM ET | Comments (8)
Battleground Road Trip: First Day Milestones
Posted byJim VandeHei» About Jim Miles traveled on Day 1 of the Ohio River Ramble: 182 Average amount of red meat consumed per person: 1.2 pounds Stories and blog entries written: 6 Watching Cillizza drink a Heineken with a...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 20, 2006; 11:07 PM ET | Comments (3)
Kentucky's 2nd: The Challenger's Money Chase
State Rep. Mike Weaver (D) has all the credentials to unseat Rep. Ron Lewis (R) in Kentucky's 2nd district: Three decades in the military, a ten-year career in the state legislature and conservative views on hot-button issues like abortion and...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 20, 2006; 04:42 PM ET | Comments (19)
Telephone Town Halls
ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. -- There isn't a town in Rep. Ron Lewis's (R) 2nd district larger than 54,000 so he is using techonology to communicate with broad swaths of voters. Posted byChris Cillizza» About Chris Lewis conducted a "telephone town hall"...
By Chris Cillizza | September 20, 2006; 12:10 PM ET | Comments (4)
Ads, Ads Everywhere!
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- If you love watching political ads (and Fix readers know we do), a hotel room in Louisville is a little slice of heaven. Posted byChris Cillizza» About Chris Although we've been in the city for less than...
By Chris Cillizza | September 20, 2006; 11:25 AM ET | Comments (17)
The Politics of Gas
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Democrats suddenly have a gas problem that is causing party leaders indigestion heading into the final 50 days of the campaign. The headline in today's Lousiville Courier-Journal says it all: "As Oil Falls, the Cost to Fill...
By Chris Cillizza | September 20, 2006; 07:34 AM ET | Comments (110)
Rambling Through the '06 Battleground
The Ohio River Ramblers -- Chris Cillizza, Chet Rhodes, and Jim VandeHei. (Whitney Shefte - washingtonpost.com) Back in May, political analyst Stu Rothenberg threw out a challenge we couldn't resist. Rothenberg wrote that "the fight for the House of...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | September 20, 2006; 05:01 AM ET | Comments (32)
