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The congressman, the sheriff and the 8th District

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The congressman, the sheriff and the 8th District

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2:06 PM Friday, May 1, 2009

John Boehner hasn’t faced a serious challenge for his seat in Congress in the nearly 20 years he’s been representing Ohio’s 8th District.

In fact, his only tough congressional race was the first one — the 1990 Republican primary in which he toppled a sitting congressman (disgraced Donald “Buz” Lukens) and defeated a former congressman, Tom Kindness.

The list of eight Democrats who have been clobbered by Boehner, currently the House Minority Leader, in the intervening elections includes only one notable name — former Democrat Greg Jolivette, who is now a Republican member of the Butler County Commission.

But Boehner’s supremacy at the polls could be in jeopardy.

Last week, Richard K. Jones, Butler County’s popular and populist sheriff, surprised many by revealing that he may challenge Boehner in the 2010 Republican primary in the 8th District.

These are difficult days for Republicans. While the party was learning that its most powerful leader in the House could be facing a challenge from within his own party, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania was switching parties — from the GOP to the Democrats — giving Senate Democrats a dominating majority in that chamber. It was a bad week.

The Republicans’ recent bad fortune, of course, hasn’t trickled down to GOP strongholds, like Butler and Warren counties, so any potential threat to Boehner could only be mounted by a fellow Republican.

But the party’s struggles on the national stage — with Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as the public faces of the waning GOP — could finally render Boehner vulnerable in his home district to a challenge from Jones, a fellow Republican who is arguably more admired locally than the 10-term congressman from West Chester Twp.

Jones could patiently wait for Boehner to retire at some future date, but we suspect our sheriff senses that the 8th District could be ready for a change now.

Because he’s been the county’s most conspicuous and outspoken officeholder recently, it’s easy to forget that Jones has only been on the political stage since 2004, when longtime Sheriff Harold Don Gabbard retired, permitting his chief deputy to step out of his shadow.

And boy, did he.

The personable and fast-talking Jones quickly started grabbing headlines on a number of topics — illegal immigration, chain gangs, helping Hurricane Katrina victims, cutting “frills” in the county jail, lucratively renting out jail space, delivering ice after Hurricane Ike — and soon crafted a public image that was a cross between John Wayne (a portrait of the Duke hangs in Jones’ office) and Rush Limbaugh.

Voters in Butler County liked what they saw — some putting “I support Sheriff Jones” bumper stickers on their cars — and returned him to office last year with more than 71 percent of the vote — even while he was doing little to conceal his keen interest in seeking a higher office.

Boehner’s winning margin last year was nearly as impressive — more than 66 percent.

So a primary race between those two — if the party does not convince one to step aside — would be a costly, high-stakes contest that would draw national attention.

Does the party want such a showdown?

“It’s always unfortunate if we have a contested primary,” Butler County GOP Chairman Tom Ellis told staff writer Josh Sweigart last week. “If we should find ourselves in that type of situation, it’s divisive and expensive and certainly at this time we don’t need that.”

Recent elections, however, have shown that maverick Republicans like Mike Fox and Kay Rogers — and now Jones — have been able to buck the party’s wishes and remain successful, by virtue of widespread name recognition and an independent streak — qualities that Jones has in spades.

Boehner, meanwhile, is saddled with the “Party of No” label that’s

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