By Steve Kemme
The Cincinnati Enquirer

In his previous congressional campaigns, U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot never gave Butler County a thought.

But this year, he's spent a lot of time in southwestern Butler County, attending church festivals, talking with local officials and shaking hands with voters.

WHAT'S MY DISTRICT?

Figuring out which congressional district you are in is as easy as contacting the board of elections for your county or looking on your board's Web site. • The Hamilton County Board of Elections (www.hamilton-co.org/BOE) has a feature that displays the ballot for your polling place. It also tells you where the polling place is and how to get there.   Other board of elections Web sites: • Butler County: www.butlercountyohio.org/elections • Clermont County: www.clermontelections.org • Warren County: www.telecom.co.warren.oh.us/bdelec

The reason: Redrawing of congressional districts for the Nov. 5 election placed four southwestern Butler townships in Mr. Chabot's 1st Congressional District.

New boundaries have prompted Mr. Chabot, Democratic opponent Greg Harris and other candidates to visit communities they had never campaigned in before.

"I've tried very hard to listen to what concerns and what issues are relevant to the people in the new part of my district," said Mr. Chabot, a Cincinnati Republican.

The 1st District added Ross, Morgan, Reily and Hanover townships in Butler, as well as parts of western and north-central Hamilton County, including Norwood, Reading, Evendale, Wyoming, Amberley Village and sections of Glendale, Springdale and Colerain Township.

Communities that were moved out of the 1st District include Madisonville, Kennedy Heights, Silverton, Mount Adams and part of East Walnut Hills.

Mr. Harris said the district's new lines have given it a rural flavor. "I find I'm spending a lot of time in townships or farming communities. It's fascinating how diverse this district is. It feels as semi-rural to me as it does urban."

U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester, and Democratic opponent Jeff Hardenbrook have tailored campaigns to include new areas in reconfigured 8th District.

The district lost the four southwestern Butler County townships that have moved to the 1st, as well as Auglaize and Shelby counties and part of Mercer County. The district has gained part of Dayton and northeastern Montgomery County communities Huber Heights and Riverside.

Mr. Boehner said issues in the new parts of his district are similar to the rest: "The urban problems around Dayton aren't significantly different than you'd find in Hamilton or Middletown. The more suburban part of Montgomery County is similar to the other suburban areas in my district."

Other new boundaries: the 2nd District, where Republican incumbent Rep. Rob Portman of Terrace Park is running against Democrat Charles Sanders of Waynesville, and the 3rd District, where Democrat Rick Carne, who was former Rep. Tony Hall's chief of staff, is competing with Republican Mike Turner, former mayor of Dayton.

Seven times this year, Mr. Portman has traveled to Portsmouth, one of the communities that will join his district.

As a Hamilton County commissioner, Mr. Chabot represented the communities that will shift to the 1st District.

Still, he said one of the biggest changes for him is the need to focus more on agricultural issues.

"A lot of farms will be a part of this district," he said. "There haven't been many farms in my district for the past eight years."

E-mail skemme@enquirer.com