Democrats force antiwar candidate out of Ohio Senate race

The incident makes clear the determination of the Democratic Party congressional leadership to prevent the 2006 elections from becoming a referendum on the war in Iraq. The Ohio candidate preferred by Reid and Schumer, Congressman Sherrod Brown of Akron, is liberal on social policy but not identified with the widespread public opposition to the Iraq war.

Ohio, which gave Bush his margin in the Electoral College in the 2004 presidential campaign, has several key races this fall. Senator Michael DeWine is widely viewed as one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents, and Democrats are favored to take back the governorship in the wake of corruption scandals in the administration of Republican Governor Robert Taft.

Hackett, a Cincinnati attorney who served in Iraq in the Marine Corps reserves, came to prominence last summer when he nearly won a by-election in a heavily Republican congressional district, running a vociferously antiwar and anti-Bush campaign. After his narrow 52-48 percent loss, he jumped into the race for the Senate nomination with the same message.

In his withdrawal announcement, Hackett bitterly denounced Reid, Schumer and other leading Democrats who initially welcomed his entry into the Senate campaign last year, then shifted to Brown when DeWine began to appear vulnerable in the polls. Hackett said the Senate leaders had made calls to potential donors discouraging them from contributing to his campaign, with the result that Brown had a huge financial advantage in the primary campaign.

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