Congress is a possibility, but Mr. Portune may decide that running against one of the two Hamilton County commissioners up for re-election next year is a better prospect than getting into a rugby scrum with Mr. Chabot, who usually manages to get out from under the pile with his teeth and bones intact. On the surface, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has some selling points as it knocks on Mr. Portune's door. Part of the reason for Mr. Chabot's success is that, in First District elections, his voters show up and the Democrats' don't. In Avondale, where Democrats thrive, the turnout dropped to 45 percent. Turnout matters, but the rest is explained by Mr. Chabot himself.
Problem is, none of it did.
In the First District, personality trumps politics every time. The Cincinnati Enquirer , a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper.