Ted Strickland



Ted Strickland was a Democrat who served in the United States House of Representatives representing the 6th congressional district of Ohio (map) from 1993 to 2007. He declined to run for reelection in 2006 to pursue the governorship of Ohio, which he won.

Background
Born August 4, 1941, in Lucasville, Ohio, Strickland was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from Asbury College (Wilmore, Ky.) in 1963. In 1966, he received a master of arts degree from the University of Kentucky. He received another master's degree in 1967 from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. He received a doctorate degree in psychology from the University of Kentucky in 1980.

Strickland worked as a clinical psychologist and was a professor of psychology at Shawnee State University.

Congressional Career
Strickland ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, 1978, and 1980, and lost each time, the first two times to long-time incumbent William H. Harsha, and the third time to Harsha's successor, Bob McEwen, who ran Harsha's last two campaigns.

Strickland ran in 1992 and again faced McEwen, a Hillsboro Republican who had defeated Clarence E. Miller of Lancaster in the nasty Republican primary by only 297 votes. (Miller's Tenth District was abolished by the Ohio General Assembly and combined with McEwen's Sixth because Ohio lost two Congressional seats following the 1990 census.) McEwen had faced charges in the primary campaign about his bounced checks at the House bank, his Congressional office expenses, and his overseas travel at taxpayer expense. Miller called McEwen "Pinnochio" and McEwen said of Miller "his misrepresentations and falsehoods are gargantuan. I tried to be his best friend in the delegation. I am deeply disappointed at the meanness of his effort." Tom Deimer of Cleveland's Plain Dealer wrote that the two candidates were largely identical on the issues: "both are textbook Republican conservatives, opposed to abortion, gun control, high taxes, and costly government programs - unless located in their districts." Miller noted he had no overdrafts, saying "the score is 166 to nothing."

McEwen's previous district was in southwestern and south-central Ohio centered around his hometown of Hillsboro, but he now found himself running in the new Sixth District, a huge area stretching from Lebanon in Warren County to Marietta in Washington County on the opposite side of the state, much of the district being territory that he did not know and which did not know him. The district was difficult to campaign in, being in half a dozen different media markets and having no large cities and few unifying influences.

Patrick J. Buchanan, the conservative columnist who challenged President Bush earlier in the year in the primaries, came to Ohio to campaign for McEwen as did Vice President Dan Quayle and Oliver North, but McEwen never recovered from the primary challenge and was narrowly defeated by Strickland in the general election on November 3, 1992. Strickland received 122,720 votes to McEwen's 119,252, a plurality of only 3,468. "I think McEwen's loss was a case of bounced checks and some arrogance," said Alfred Tuchfarber, a political science professor at the University of Cincinnati who runs the Ohio Poll. "He just had a certain personal arrogance about him that didn't go down well in a poor district."

Strickland said "I ran against Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanan, the National Rifle Association and Right-to-Life. They threw everything at me. I'm just so happy I beat back those guys. I think they're so divisive." Strickland began serving in 1993 (103rd Congress).

In 1994, the Republican wave swamped Strickland, who narrowly lost his seat to Republican Frank Cremeans. However, in 1996, Strickland won his seat back, again narrowly, taking office in 1997 (the 105th Congress). He won re-election in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004.

Iraq War
Strickland voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Run for governor in 2006
Strickland has announced that he will be running for governor of Ohio in 2006, when the current governor, Robert A. Taft II, will be barred from running for a third consecutive term. Strickland has selected former Ohio Attorney General and 1998 candidate for governor Lee Fisher as his running mate. Democrats nominated Charlie Wilson and Republicans nominated Chuck Blasdel to contest the November 2006 election for his house seat. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006)

Committees in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on Energy and Commerce
 * Subcommittee on Commerce Trade and Consumer Protection
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality
 * Subcommittee on Health
 * House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations - Ranking Minority Member

Coalitions and Caucuses

 * Sixth District Committee, 1988-1992
 * Congressional Rural Caucus
 * Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus
 * Co-Chair, Correctional Officers Caucus

Boards and other Affiliations

 * Member, American Psychological Association
 * Member, Ohio Education Association
 * Member, Ohio Psychological Association

Article and Resources

 * Official website
 * Campaign website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Psychobilly Democrat
 * As Ohio Goes
 * Writes Like She Talks
 * Buckeye State Blog
 * Callahan's Cleveland Diary

Contact
DC Office: 336 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-3506 Phone: 202-225-5705 TollFree: 1-888-706-1833 Fax: 202-225-5907 Web Email Website

District Office - Boardman: 374 Boardman-Poland Road Boardman, OH 44512 Phone: 330-965-4220 TollFree: 888-706-1833 (6th dist) Fax: 330-965-4224

District Office - Marietta: 254 Front Street Marietta, OH 45750 Phone: 740-376-0868 TollFree: 888-706-1833 (6th dist) Fax: 740-376-0886

District Office - Martins Ferry: 35 South Fifth Street Martins Ferry, OH 43935 Phone: 740-633-2275 TollFree: 888-706-1833 (6th dist) Fax: 740-633-2280

District Office - Wheelersburg: 11692 Gallia Pike, Suite A Wheelersburg, OH 45694 Phone: 740-574-2676 TollFree: 888-706-1833 (6th dist) Fax: 740-574-5337