By Debra Jasper
Enquirer Columbus Bureau

W H E R E   T H E Y   S T A N D

Budget: If necessary, Mr. Hagan favors expanding gambling, making steep cuts in spending and raising business taxes to deal with a state budget deficit projected to be as high as $4 billion next year. Mr. Taft says he would raise business taxes if needed, but says it's too early to present a plan for dealing with projected deficits. Prescription drugs: Mr. Taft supports a plan to send the Golden Buckeye Card - which offers drug discounts - to millions of seniors for free next year. The card now costs $10. Mr. Hagan says he would take on the drug companies and negotiate more bulk discounts for everyone without prescription drug coverage - not just seniors. Gambling: Mr. Hagan favors expanding gambling. Mr. Taft opposes it. Education: Mr. Taft says his administration has spent record amounts on elementary and high school students and on school construction. He has also increased financial aid for college students. Mr. Hagan says tuition is too high and he would spend more state dollars on higher education to ease rates. He says he would also lower property taxes by spending more state money instead of local money on school funding. Drug laws: Mr. Taft opposes Issue 1, a ballot initiative to send certain non-violent offenders to treatment instead of prison. He also opposes laws allowing marijuana to be used for medical reasons. Mr. Hagan backs Issue 1 and supports medical marijuana. Abortion: Mr. Taft is anti-abortion. Mr. Hagan is pro-abortion rights. Death Penalty: Mr. Hagan opposes it. Mr. Taft supports it.

COLUMBUS - Voters who complain there are too few differences between Republican and Democratic candidates should check out Ohio's race for governor.

Republican Gov. Bob Taft and his challenger, Democrat Tim Hagan, are divided over most key issues facing the state, including how to deal with a ballooning budget deficit, skyrocketing prescription drug costs, gambling, the education crisis, drug laws, abortion and the death penalty.

Also notable are the differences between the candidates themselves. Gov. Taft, 60, the son and grandson of U.S. senators and great-grandson of a president, is a stilted campaigner who rarely veers from a scripted message. A moderate Republican, the Cincinnati native argues Ohio is better off than most states in a sagging national economy.

He says his opponent is "down on Ohio" and has a risky scheme for balancing the budget.

Mr. Hagan, 56, the son of Irish and Italian immigrant steel and ironworkers, is a rough-talking former Cuyahoga County commissioner who shoots from the hip. A throwback to New Deal liberalism, he gives lengthy speeches on everything from government's duty to care for the poor to his belief that the political system is corrupted by money.

He believes Mr. Taft has failed to lead Ohio and is "out of touch" with workers and others struggling to get by.

To date, Gov. Taft is the clear front-runner. He is ahead in the polls, has more name recognition and has already spent millions on television ads. Mr. Hagan is not well known outside of Cleveland and has been relying on Internet ads and billboards to introduce himself to voters and explain his beliefs.

The two men don't only use different methods to get their message out. They also have vastly different things to say.

On the budget, analysts say the declining economy and sagging tax revenues could give Ohio a $4 billion deficit next year. To make ends meet, Mr. Hagan would raise business taxes by $500 million, expand gambling at racetracks and cut state agency spending by 15 percent.

Mr. Taft says he, too, would probably increase business taxes but has declined to present an overall plan for balancing the budget, saying it's too early to say how much money will be needed.

To deal with the rising costs of prescription drugs, Mr. Taft plans to send the Golden Buckeye Card - which offers drug discounts of 5 to 15 percent - to millions of senior citizens this January. The card, available now for $10, will be free next year. "It's going to help a lot of people who are hurting in this state," Mr. Taft says.

Mr. Hagan dismisses the Golden Buckeye Card as "fool's gold." He says his administration would play hardball with drug companies and negotiate bigger discounts for all Ohioans who don't have prescription drug coverage. Mr. Hagan also promises to push for the passage of a bill sponsored by his brother, a state senator, to give the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services the power to negotiate price rebates with pharmaceutical companies.

On the issue of gambling, Mr. Hagan favors allowing video lottery machines at racetracks, a plan he says could bring in up to $500 million for state coffers. He argues the state already has gambling in the form of a lottery and says it is time to stop allowing Indiana, Kentucky and neighboring states cash in on Ohioans who cross the border to gamble.

"Other states are using gambling for their own benefit, why not us?" he asks. "Are people in Michigan or Kentucky any less moral than we are?"

Mr. Taft calls Mr. Hagan's plan a "risky scheme." He argues that voters have already rejected casino-type gambling twice in Ohio and they don't want it now. "I'm opposed to casino gambling at racetracks without a vote of the people," Mr. Taft says. "I'm concerned about the social costs."

Gap on education

In the education arena, Gov. Taft says he is dedicated to making sure students of all ages are prepared for a high-tech economy.

He points out that his administration has spent record amounts on primary and secondary education, increasing state aid to schools by nearly 40 percent.

Under his administration, Ohio spends more than $2 million a day building or renovating school buildings. He also cites OhioReads, a program he started that now has more than 40,000 tutors for school children.

Mr. Taft also says he increased financial aid for college-bound students by 28 percent since he took office - a jump of more than $40 million.

Mr. Hagan says the state hasn't done enough.

"Taft gives example after example of what he's done to help higher education but we're 41st out of 50 states in the number of college graduates and 40th in our aid to higher education. The state was given an F in college affordability by an independent study," Mr. Hagan says. "He can say whatever he wants, but those are the facts."

He notes the Ohio Supreme Court still says Ohio's school funding system is unfair and unconstitutional. The Democratic candidate says he would lower the property tax burden on Ohioans as the court demands by shifting more of the costs of funding schools to the state. He doesn't specify how the state would pay for the increased costs, although his plan says he will make sure corporations pay their fair share of taxes.

Mr. Hagan criticizes the Taft administration for cutting $240 million from the higher education budget and removing the tuition caps at public universities. He says he would restore such funding. Both Mr. Hagan and Mr. Taft say they plan to restore tuition caps.

Difference on drug policies

Mr. Hagan and Mr. Taft also hold wildly divergent views on drug policies. Mr. Hagan supports Issue 1, an initiative on the ballot this fall that would send certain non-violent drug offenders into treatment instead of prison.

He also said he would support laws that would allow marijuana to be distributed for medical reasons. He says his father died of cancer and he would have given him marijuana if he had asked for it to ease his pain.

Mr. Taft opposes the issue, saying, among other things, it is the first step toward legalizing drugs. The governor also opposes medical marijuana laws, saying other treatments are available for people who are suffering.

The candidates also are split on key social issues. Mr. Taft has long been anti-abortion. He signed a bill banning so-called partial-birth abortions in Ohio, although the law has been delayed by federal judges. He says the state should do everything it can to reduce abortions and promote abstinence.

Mr. Hagan is pro-abortion rights. He said he grew up in the Catholic Church and has 14 brothers and sisters so he understands the anti-abortion view. But he believes a woman's decision on abortion should be made with her doctor, her God and her conscience.

Death penalty

Mr. Hagan also doesn't believe the state should execute people. He says he would commute the sentences of all condemned prisoners who come before him and instead give them life without parole.

"I understand the outrage. I don't know if someone killed my daughter or wife I wouldn't want to strangle the SOB," Mr. Hagan says. "But that's an emotional response and we're supposed to be reasonable human beings. I believe the state shouldn't act in an emotional way."

Mr. Taft says he is obligated by law to carry out the death penalty. He says Mr. Hagan is substituting his judgment for that of the jury. "Dealing with death penalty cases is not easy," he says. "But I have to uphold the law."

There is a third candidate on the ballot, independent John Eastman, affiliated with the Natural Law Party.

Mr. Eastman, an engineer from Yellow Springs, ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2000, lieutenant governor in 1998 and state senate in 1996.

On his Web site, Mr. Eastman said he believes in a government of prevention. "In other words, it's cheaper to prevent problems than to pay to solve full-blown problems. This prevention approach keeps taxes lower. It's also far more compassionate.

"I believe that there are common sense, long-range prevention-oriented solutions for all the major problems we face today, for example, transforming our present day disease-care system into a true health-care system."

E-mail djasper@enquirer.com