BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- Democrats aren't Lt. Gov. Nancy Hollister's only opponent in her quest for the 6th Congressional District seat.
In Warren County, she has to worry about some Republicans, too.
Some of the county's leading Republican campaigners and fund-raisers have said they cannot, in good conscience, vote for Mrs. Hollister because she is for abortion rights and too moderate. And Family First, a conservative political action committee based in Cincinnati, has decided not to endorse a 6th District candidate. Both are "unpalatable," board member Roseann Siderits said.
After leading the Republican 6th District campaigns in Warren County in 1994 and 1996, Mrs. Siderits is sitting this one out and plans to leave the 6th District spot on her ballot blank.
This lack of support by some key Republicans could spell trouble for Mrs. Hollister and give an edge to incumbent Ted Strickland. Mrs. Hollister needs to win Warren County by the traditional 70-30 percentage split to help carry the 14-county district. Every vote counts in this see-saw district, in which the seat has changed parties every race since 1990, and two percentage points -- less than 6,100 votes -- have determined the last two contests. Because the elections are so close, the race is one of the most watched in the country and considered a bellwether of national political trends.
The Strickland campaign doesn't expect to win Warren County, where Republican voters typically outnumber Democrats two to one. But Mr. Strickland thinks reducing the margin by just a few percentage points could mean a return trip to Washington.
Mrs. Hollister acknowledges "undercurrents" in the Warren County campaign.
"I know there are one or two individuals who feel passionately about a single issue who would prefer that I not win this election," she said.
Still, Mrs. Hollister thinks that sentiment is in the minority. She expects most Republicans to approve of her conservative agenda, which includes plans to whittle down government regulations, overhaul the tax code and support strong defense measures.
U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine cautions fellow Republicans from focusing on just one issue.
"The most important vote (a Congress member) casts is to organize the House and the Senate," Mr. DeWine said. "It makes all the difference in the world which party controls the House."
Right now, the Republicans have an 11-seat advantage over the Democrats. But all 435 seats are up for election Nov. 3.
Warren County Republican Party Chair Les Spaeth is working to dissuade some of the anti-abortion Republicans from acting upon a single issue and instead consider the bigger picture.
Many understand that "even though they would like a right-to-life candidate, they also realize Ted (Strickland) is a liberal," Mr. Spaeth said.
Still, there may be a few whose convictions are so strong they won't vote for either candidate, Mr. Spaeth said. Mrs. Hollister's campaign coordinator for the county, Maynard Hagemeyer, said dissent in the ranks could reduce the level of support of Mrs. Hollister. That kink in the Republican armor is a ray of light for the Strickland campaign, particularly with forecasts that the Clinton scandal will hurt Democratic candidates this fall.
"I can't predict with accuracy how the people will respond," Mr. Strickland said. "But I can tell you that thus far, I have not met a single constituent who has blamed me for Bill Clinton's behavior."
The options in the 6th District are frustrating for Lori Viars, a prominent Warren County Republican who serves as secretary for the party's central committee. She also is president of the local Right to Life chapter, which has more than 2,000 members.
If anti-abortion Republicans don't vote, Mrs. Viars fears it gives Democrats the advantage. Still, she said, her conscience -- and that of other staunch anti-abortion Republicans -- won't let her vote for either candidate.
"The people who are feeling this way are the people who never, ever miss an election," Mrs. Viars said. "We take that right to vote very seriously, and to sit out that one section of the ballot is not something we do lightly."
