AP

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio’s race for governor is a journey through the looking glass. The Democrat, Rep. Ted Strickland, is a rural, pro-gun minister, which could make him appealing to some Republicans. The Republican, Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, is a black man who could draw votes from Democrats.

In this topsy-turvy political world, none of the usual assumptions hold, and even experienced prognosticators from both parties are hedging their bets.

“I think the formula for winning Ohio needs to be rewritten,” said Greg Haas, a Democratic consultant who led Bill Clinton to victory in the state in 1992. “For many reasons, including the candidates running this year, I don’t think old models apply.”

Blackwell, 58, is an ardent Christian conservative who could become the nation’s second black — and the first black Republican — to be elected governor. (Democrat L. Douglas Wilder was elected governor of Virginia in 1989.) Also this year, Lynn Swann, a Hall of Famer with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s who is black, is running for governor in Pennsylvania.

The Ohio GOP is hopeful its candidate will pull some black votes away from the Democratic Party. The Democrats may be the party of civil rights, but Blackwell is fond of calling the GOP “the party of Lincoln.”

I cannot stress just how imperative it is that Blackwell win this race. The future of the Ohio Republican Party is really at stake here. After years of corruption, scandal, and liberal RINOism the Ohio GOP has left the people of Ohio behind. Blackwell will take the party back to its conservative roots and can bring a revitalization to the GOP throughout the state. This will be a tough race to win as Blackwell is suffering from guilt by association. If the Democrats take this governorship it will be a thorn in the Republicans’ sides come 2008.