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Broadcast – No Contest

Do you like watching a football game when one team leads by five touchdowns? If not, you won’t find Congressional elections very exciting.

Here’s something you didn’t know. Of 435 “House” seats, only 30 are competitive. In the others front runners overwhelmingly get elected. Last year in Ohio, every incumbent was re-elected.

Case in point is congressman Steve Chabot. For years Chabot had lots of close contests against tough opponents. Then in 2011, the Republican Party used its control over the Ohio legislature to “gerrymander” the 1st district, removing Democratic parts of Cincinnati and adding in GOP leaning Warren County. This discouraged strong Democrats from challenging Chabot, virtually guaranteeing him the seat. So if federal elections are essentially fixed, how are we different from Russia where the political party decides who gets elected. One-sided contests are nice for those who win, but very bad for democracy. I’m Phil Heimlich.