By Malia Rulon
It was an unusual sight: former U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen, R-Ohio, striding across the House floor as if he’d never left.
McEwen, who represented southern Ohio in Congress in the 1980s and is now a registered lobbyist in Washington, was apparently trying to track down a congressman. Unlike other lobbyists, former congressmen like McEwen are allowed on the House floor.
When reporters finally caught up with him, he was running late for another appointment.
But McEwen, who lost the GOP primary in a special election this year to U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, still had a few minutes to talk about the latest rumor making the rounds, which is that he’s already telling folks that he’s planning to run against Schmidt, R-Miami Township, again next year.
“The question as to what I will do will be decided sometime next year, after consultation with many friends,” McEwen said with a wide smile, adding that despite his two trips to Washington last week he’s only been in the nation’s capital for five weeks this year.
“We’ve been in Ohio virtually all the time,” said McEwen, whoowns a two-bedroom condominium in Anderson Township.
Another Ohioan in Washington last week was Democrat Paul Hackett, who lost a close election to Schmidt in August. He is now vying for the Democratic nomination to run for the U.S. Senate.
Hackett, an Indian Hill lawyer and Iraq War veteran, held a fund-raiser at Hawk ‘n’ Dove, a popular Capitol Hill watering hole. The fund-raiser cost $35 to $250 to attend, Hackett spokesman Karl Frisch said.
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