OH-12 -- The Ohio House Race you haven't heard about. Bob Shamansky vs. Pat Tiberi

Ohio's twelfth district is almost unanimously considered "Safe Republican." Bob Shamansky, the Democratic challenger isn't acting as if he thinks so. He's just upped his own personal funding total to one million dollars. The Republican who holds that seat doesn't seem to think so. Pat Tiberi, referred to by some as 'Pac Man' Tiberi, by others (okay, me) as Pa(rro)t Tiberi, is making headlines in Columbus by running away from Bush. Below the fold I'll give you some reasons to keep your eyes on this race.

1. Bob Shamansky is a former U.S. Representative. He's been elected before, he can be elected again.
2. The Ohio Republican Party is reeling.
3. Zack Space and Mary Jo Kilroy already have national backing, and it's working.
4. The White House (read Rove) is focusing its efforts on six states. Ohio is one of them.

Even with the tremendous commitment Shamansky has made to winning this race, he has less than half the money Tiberi has. Tiberi has a very cozy relationship with the financial sector. Money is not a problem for Pat.

What I'd really like to see, though, is even easier than time or money. When you're talking or blogging about Ohio in 2006, as many of y'all seem to be doing, don't just talk about taking Ney's and Pryce's seats. A bit of buzz on this race is more than appropriate, and could go a long way toward ushering in the landslide we'd all like to see.