Race of the Day

Race of the day: Strickland vs. Kasich for Ohio governor

Two veteran Ohio politicians face off in a battleground state that has been devastated by job losses

Name & Party:	DEMOCRAT Ted Strickland	REPUBLICAN John Kasich
Basic Info:	Gov. since '07; former U.S. Rep; Age: 69	Investment banker, former U.S. Rep.; Age: 58
Issues:	Supports Obama health-care plan Earns straight "A"s from NRA Wants to maintain current tax rate and cut spending	Wants to see "Obamacare" repealed Regrets vote to ban assult rifles in '94 Wants to lower taxes and cut spending
Polling At:	44%	48%
Campaign Chest:	$6.2 million	$5.2 million
Key Quote:	"My opponent worked on Wall Street while I was here in Ohio fighting to create jobs."	"Our government is too clunky, too old, too tired, too big."
Petty Controversy:	Prisoners in a work-inmate program used his home as a waystation for smuggling contraband	Ripped for earning $50,000 a year to lecture four hours a month at Ohio State University
Wild card:	Kasich has been out of Congress since 2000, making him difficult to associate with unpopular elements of Bush's legacy
Dueling Ads:	"Truth": Strickland argues that "Kasich and Wall Street" financially benefited by outsourcing jobs from Ohio	"Record": Kasich denies he was a Wall Street bigwig and says Ohio has lost 400k jobs under Strickland leadership