By Chad D. Baus

For political junkies, the 2006 Ohio Governor's race has been providing fix after fix for well over a year now.

Among Republicans, battles between Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, Attorney General Jim Petro, and Auditor of State Betty Montgomery have been a microcosm of the larger power struggle in the Grand Old Party of late between conservatives and moderates. Among Democrats, a similar struggle has broiled, with liberals like Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman and state Sen. Eric Fingerhut squaring off against front-runner Ted Strickland, who is more moderate.

Events from the past two weeks in both parties have shaken things up considerably in terms of the May 2 primary, and further shakeup can be expected in the days leading up to the Feb. 16 filing deadline.

On January 16, Republican Jim Petro's running mate Phil Heimlich, who had been selected to shore up Petro's bonafides as a conservative, left the ticket to run for reelection as a county commissioner in Cincinnati. Petro has yet to name replacement.

Nine days later, on January 25, pro-choice and anti-gun "Republican" Betty Montgomery announced she was quitting the governor's race and would instead run for Attorney General.

Conservative Republican Ken Blackwell, who for the past year has consistently polled as the GOP's front-runner, has also not yet named a running mate. And before anyone convinces themselves that running mates don't matter, consider what Democrat Ted Strickland's naming of a running mate has done to the hearts of Democrat gun owners...