Akron Beacon Journal: Hackett ends bid for seat in Senate

Letter says Iraq veteran reluctantly drops out after requests by party leaders

By Carl Chancellor

Rock on.

That was Paul Hackett’s parting remark in a brief letter sent to supporters Tuesday announcing his decision to withdraw from the race for U.S. Senate and thereby avoiding a potentially messy primary battle with seven-term U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown.

Hackett, an Iraq war veteran and seeming up-and-comer in the Democratic party, said he made the decision to step aside “reluctantly, only after repeated requests by party leaders.”

From the tone of his letter, a clearly disgruntled Hackett said that in addition to political pressure to withdraw, there were also “behind-the-scenes machinations that were intended to hurt my campaign.”

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February 15, 2006 | Filed Under Hackett, News Mentions | Comment 

AP: Iraq vet drops out of Senate race in Ohio

By David Hammer

Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett has abandoned his campaign to win a U.S. Senate seat from Ohio less than a year after a strong political debut in which he gained popularity for his staunch criticism of President Bush, according to a published report Tuesday.

Hackett, of Cincinnati, also told The New York Times that he may leave politics altogether, driven from the ballot by the same Democratic leaders who urged him to run after his narrow defeat in a House race last year.

“This is an extremely disappointing decision that I feel has been forced on me,” Hackett said.

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February 14, 2006 | Filed Under Hackett, News Mentions | Comment 

AP: Mayor’s Wrong Statement About Senate Candidate Fuels Speculation

By David Hammer

An incorrect news release fed speculation Monday about Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett’s political future.

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory sent a statement to news media praising Hackett, a fellow Democrat, for leaving his campaign for U.S. Senate to instead take a second shot at a Cincinnati-area House seat that he nearly won last summer.

Mallory meant to send a release encouraging Hackett to take on GOP Rep. Jean Schmidt, his spokesman Dan Phenicie said.

“We apparently got some misinformation,” he said.

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February 13, 2006 | Filed Under Hackett, News Mentions | Comment 

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Zounds Like Rumors

Somebody out there is dreaming. At least that’s what the campaigns of Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Paul Hackett and Sherrod Brown say about Internet rumors that one of them will drop out of the primary race. Brown spokesman Ben Wikler: “Sherrod is in for the long haul and has no comment on the rumors that DeWine is dropping out.” Hackett’s people offered something else for the blogosphere to chew on. Spokesman Karl Frisch: “The Hackett campaign refuses to traffic in gossip and innuendo, but we have heard rumors that an animal-human hybrid may be joining the Republican primary against U.S. Senator Mike Dewine.”

February 10, 2006 | Filed Under Hackett, News Mentions | Comment 

Ohio: Hackett’s Dem Bona Fides Called Into Question

National Journal: The Hotline

Hackett “opened a Columbus campaign office” 2/8, although Brown supporters “preceded the office opening by making sure reporters knew that Hackett” had once been a GOPer. Hackett spokesperson Karl Frisch acknowledged that Hackett took GOP ballots twice in the ’90s to support friends who were running for local offices. Frisch: “Had Paul been scripting himself to be a politician for the rest of his life, perhaps he would have done something different.”

“He explained that Hackett had little interest in politics until 1998, when he became incensed by the House’s impeachment” of Pres. Clinton. He voted as a Dem in the ‘04 primary (Hallett, Columbus Dispatch, 2/10).

February 10, 2006 | Filed Under Hackett, News Mentions | Comment 

Columbus Dispatch: Brown Camp Spreading Word Hackett was a Republican

By Joe Hallett

Paul Hackett, once a Republican and now a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, opened a Columbus campaign office Wednesday at 1650 Watermark Dr. Supporters of U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, Hackett’s Democratic primary opponent, preceded the office opening by making sure reporters knew that Hackett had been a registered Republican.

Karl Frisch, Hackett’s campaign spokesman, acknowledged that Hackett took Republican ballots twice in the 1990s to support friends who were running for local offices.

“Had Paul been scripting himself to be a politician for the rest of his life, perhaps he would have done something different,” Frisch said.

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February 10, 2006 | Filed Under Hackett, News Mentions | Comment 

The Hill: Hackett a Recent Dem

By Jonathan E. Kaplan

Paul Hackett, the Iraq war veteran turned Democratic Senate hopeful in Ohio, had not been a declared Democrat until two years ago.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported the finding on its website Tuesday after examining data at the Hamilton County Board of Elections.

Hackett has always voted for a Democratic candidate for president and only voted in GOP primaries if a friend was running, said Karl Frisch, Hackett’s spokesman. He began describing himself in 1998 as a Democrat after the House impeached President Clinton.

Hackett ran for GOP Rep. Rob Portman’s open seat in 2005 but lost to Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio).

February 9, 2006 | Filed Under Hackett, News Mentions | Comment