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.

He explained that Hackett had little interest in politics until 1998, when he became incensed by the House’s impeachment of President Clinton. He voted as a Democrat in the 2004 primary election.

Hackett, who rejoined the Marine Corps in 2004 so he could serve in Iraq, decided to run for the 2nd District congressional seat as an anti-war Democrat when he returned from Iraq in 2005, narrowly losing to Republican Jean Schmidt.

February 10, 2006 | Filed Under Hackett, News Mentions 

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