Why Sandra O’Brien Won

By Chris Chumita

The Buckeye Firearms Association’s endorsed candidate for state treasurer, Sandra O’Brien, pulled an upset victory over the incumbent, Jeanette Bradley in the May primary. The election just ended, and the finger pointing has already started.

Bradley was what some people would call a “Golden Child” of the Republican Party. She was supposed to be untouchable and was rumored to have her sights on running for a higher political office sometime in the future. According to a recent Plain Dealer article, she had approximately $400,000 in her war chest compared to O’Brien’s $40,000.

The Plain Dealer and other political experts want to blame Bradley’s defeat on her almost non-existent campaign. It was reported by Bradley’s campaign manager that party leaders recommended she campaign lightly and save her money for the November election.

What Bradley and the Republican leaders do not seem to understand is that there are four real reasons why she lost and they had very little to do with her campaign.

Click 'Read More' for the complete analysis.

The first reason that Sandra O’Brien won is her personality. She is warm, friendly and makes you instantly feel like a long lost friend. My fiancé and I instantly liked her when we met her at the Buckeye Firearms Association sponsored event at the Black Wing Shooting Center. She took the time to ask our opinions and was interested in our response. She has a likeability factor that is hard to beat.

The second reason that Sandra O’Brien won is how she campaigned. She did not have the giant war chest to pay for thousands of pamphlets or commercials so she had to campaign the old fashioned way. By putting miles on her car and shaking hands.

The third reason that Sandra O’Brien won is that she was a real conservative with real conservative views. She was very vocal about being pro-gun, pro-life, pro-family and held other conservative causes close to her heart. Her views won her endorsements from organizations such as the Buckeye Firearms Association and the Ohio Right to Life. On the other hand, Bradley’s views were more like a wanna-be liberal with an “R” after her name. She was anti-gun, pro-abortion, and supported gay marriage. While it is true that the state Treasurer can not do anything about those issues, the views on those issues were important to voters. No matter what the office is, real conservatives want to be represented by real conservatives.

The fourth reason that Sandra O’Brien won is the hard work of the different grassroots organizations that support her. Volunteers from organizations such as the Buckeye Firearms Association worked her name in daily conversations, spread the word about her views at gun related events, and publicly supported her on their web sites.

The May primary is now history, and we have to start looking towards the November election. O’Brien will be facing Democrat Richard Codray. Is O’Brien a better candidate than Codray? It is still too early to tell, but O’Brien will be a tough candidate to beat.

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