By the beginning of October Ohio Republican Governor Taft's approval rating had plunged to 15%, which prompted me to ask "How low can he go?"

Now we know. Only 6.5% of Ohio's likely voters view the governor as "very or somewhat favorably," according to a recent Zogby poll. This is the lowest approval rating ever measured so far as pollster John Zogby knows.

Meanwhile one of only two Democratic contenders for the governorship dropped out of the race. Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus announced today that he's dropping out to take care of his family and his mayoral responsibilities. His wife was arrested last month for drunken driving. That leaves only Representative Ted Strickland.

Since there's a passel of Republicans contending, this could actually be good for the Democrats. But don't get over-excited. The head of Ohio's Democratic Party resigned last week after consistently failing to bring home the bacon. According to Jim Provance,

Republicans control every statewide nonjudicial office, and the party lost one seat on the Ohio Supreme Court months after Mr. White took over as chairman. Justice Alice Robie Resnick, of Ottawa Hills, is the only Democrat left statewide, and she has yet to announce whether she'll seek re-election next year.

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How low can he go? (10/3/05)