Ney Primary: Watch the Protest VoteDespite the all-but-certain federal indictment hanging over his head, Abramoff money-and-favors recipient Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) is expected to win his congressional primary, being held today. His competitor, James Broadbelt Harris, is an unknown who hasn’t campaigned — he hasn’t even filed with the FEC, which indicates he has raised less than $5,000, CQ’s Greg Giroux tells me.
I called Giroux to get his take on the election. While he expects Ney to win, he said, he’s curious about what kind of “protest vote” Republicans in the district will cast for Harris, reacting to Ney’s ethical troubles.
“I’d be surprised if Harris got more than 20 or 25 percent,” Giroux told me. “That would be a sign that there is a chunk of the Republican base that’s disenchanted with the incumbent.”
“If Ney gets in the 80s — and he very well may — that’d show that at least Republican voters are behind him, and they weren’t willing to look at this alternative candidate,” Giroux said.
