2004 Election Results and Analysis

PLEASE NOTE: From mid-2002 through mid-2005, the Buckeye Firearms Association operated under the name OFCC PAC.

Ohio gun owners have a lot to be proud of this 2004 election season.

Upon the nomination of John Kerry by Democrats last spring, grassroots activists in Ohio quickly realized that the most intense threat to our self-defense rights came not from a state candidate, but from a liberal Massacheusetts Senator with a 20-year history of opposing the Second Amendment and of voting to ban the very guns we use to protect our homes and families.

This presented a challenge for the OFCC PAC, which recognized the importance of seeing volunteers dedicate their time to the President's re-election effort, but which also saw a significant threat to the pro-concealed carry majorities in the Ohio House and Senate. Despite the difficulty in finding volunteers to assist our "key race" candidates in Ohio, the OFCC PAC was consoled by the knowledge that a Kerry/ UN presidency was the most clear and present danger to improving Ohio's concealed carry laws.

Ohio gun owners and activists should be very proud of their efforts to re-elect President Bush. Ohio gun owners should be proud that they were not fooled by faux hunting trips or photo-op clay shoots. The activism and votes of Ohio's gun owners have ensured four more years of safety and security for our Second Amendment rights, and for our homeland.

Within the state, there is also much to be proud of.

Because anti-gun extremists continue to threaten legal action against our new law, the OFCC PAC once again sought to focus attention on races for the Ohio Supreme Court. We won! OFCC PAC Endorsee Judge Judith Lanzinger was elected to replace retiring Justice Francis Sweeney. Sweeny was one of five justices to vote to uphold the ban on concealed carry in 2003. Justice Terrence O'Donnell, a NRA-endorsed candidate, was also elected. These two candidates ensure that Ohio's high court has a Constitutional, rather than activist, majority.

When it came to legislative races, the OFCC PAC recognized that the possibility of making significant improvements to the new concealed carry law was only going to be possible if voters changed the makeup of the Ohio Senate, where the most egregious parts of the law were inserted. We did it! The only anti-concealed carry candidate who won re-election was Republican Bob Spada. EVERY OFCC PAC-endorsed Senate candidate won re-election. Voters returned EVERY Ohio Senator who expressed willingness to override Gov. Taft's veto last year. Even more significantly, voters replaced three weak pro-CCW Republican Senators (who were term-limited and unwilling to override Taft) with strong pro-CCW Republican Senators. In SD 14, OFCC PAC Endorsee Tom Niehaus was elected to replace outgoing Senate President Doug White. In SD 18, OFCC PAC Endorsee Rep. Tim Grendell was elected to replace Robert Gardner. In SD 20, OFCC PAC Endorsee Sen. Joy Padgett was elected in a "key race", having been appointed months ago to replace Jim Carnes. These victories by strong supporters of true concealed carry reform laws in Ohio should tip balance of Ohio Senate Republican Caucus to a place where overriding a Taft veto on significant concealed carry improvements is a clear option.

OFCC PAC's goal in the Ohio General Assembly was to protect our "veto-proof" majority. We made 72 endorsements in House races, and won 81%. Another 4 victories were scored in races that were considered "better than the alternative", and of course a pro-CCW candidate was elected in the one race we determined to have had two equally strong candidates. Five of eight "key races" were victories. On the other hand, candidates in three "key races" were defeated. In HD 62, Christopher Galloway (R) lost to a candidate who refused to return a survey to the OFCC PAC or NRA. In HD 63, B.J. Kresnye (R) lost a close vote to Tim Cassell (D), himself a pro-CCW candidate. In HD 93, Rep. Nancy Hollister (R) was defeated by Jennifer Garrison, who has an A- rating from the NRA (Garrison did not return a survey to the OFCC PAC). The pro-CCW majority in the Ohio General Assembly was protected, and by all appearances, a "veto-proof" House majority will continue to reign to Columbus.

The pro-CCW majority WILL return to Columbus!

Election results in OFCC PAC-ENDORSED RACES are available below:

Ohio House 2004
Ohio Senate 2004
Ohio Supreme Court 2004
Local Races 2004

2004 KEY RACE Election Results

Thanks to your hard work, volunteerism and financial support, we can declare victory again in the November 2004 elections. Now it's time to get down to the business of fixing Ohio's concealed carry law to make it more reasonable for Ohio's law-abiding citizens.