GOV CANDIDATES NOT EXACTLY RUNNING TO FIND MATES

As neither Gov. Strickland nor Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich has named a running mate yet, speculation has been running rampant statewide. Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams has been prominently mentioned as a running mate for Strickland, although Strickland has been taking his own sweet time making an announcement (Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher launched his bid for U.S. Senate last winter).

Some are also wondering if Cleveland-based state Senator Nina Turner (pictured) could be in the running to join Gov. Strickland as his lieutenant governor. She’s a rabblerousing speaker who would be an asset on the campaign trail, although she evoked a lot of hard feelings among Cuyahoga County Democrats for her support of Issue 6, the county restructuring issue pushed primarily by Republicans and the corporate community.

On the Republican side, State Auditor Mary Taylor has come up a lot. There’s related chatter that the Republican party could move Josh Mandel from the treasurer’s race to auditor, a sort of lateral move, or that Mike DeWine would move from the attorney general race, another step down for the former U.S. Senator. And DeWine’s enthusiasm for running for anything is questionable. His attorney general campaign has been invisible; there’s nothing on his campaign website more current than his announcement speech of July 22. His campaign bio says, “In his free time, he loves to be outdoors — fishing, canoeing or watching baseball — with Fran, their children and their grandchildren.” Maybe that's where he's been. — Anastasia Pantsios