You may remember the testy beginnings of the Ohio Democratic Senate primary a few months back between Rep. Sherrod Brown and Iraq vet Paul Hackett. After a couple months, Hackett left the race and while it looked like there was no repairing the relationship between the two politicos, they are now united to defeat Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) in the fall.

The Washington Post:

Don’t expect Paul Hackett to be taking any vacations with Rep. Sherrod Brown this summer, but the two Ohio Democrats have buried their differences for the fall.

Hackett, a veteran of the Iraq war who has become a favorite of liberal bloggers and the Democratic “net roots,” endorsed Brown’s Ohio Senate candidacy yesterday — five months after leaving the race himself.

Hackett said his change of heart came Thursday while he was mowing his lawn. He called Brown, apologized for the way he exited the race and offered to help. The two men met in Cincinnati over the weekend to hash out the particulars of an endorsement.

Sen. Dewine is totally out of the mainstream and he’s a back-bencher who needs to go. He must be defeated in this election. Please check out Rep. Brown’s website and if you live in OH or will be visiting the state, get involved!

From the Cincinatti Enquirer via Political Wire:

Seems like the most famous Democratic Iraq war vet, Paul Hackett, isn’t ready to hang up his boots yet. Rumors are swirling that Hackett could jump in the race to unseat Rep. “Mean” Jean Schmidt, who narrowly defeated him in a special election last year. Her Democratic challenger, Victoria Wulsin, might willingly bow out, since Hackett has stronger name recognition.

Schmidt–dead last in Congressional seniority–is best known for calling decorated Marine and sixteen term Congressman Jack Murtha a coward on the House floor. Needless to say, that didn’t go over very well.

In retrospect, Hackett should have been in this race ever since the special election rather than flirting with a Senate primary. This is an exciting prospect.

Paul Hackett has been making waves in the blogosphere ever since he nearly won a closely contested special election in the heavily Republican Ohio 2nd District. His success in that race and general high profile led him to throw his hat into the 2006 OH Senate race to displace the right-wing toady Sen. Mike DeWine. Last week he bowed out of the race and a future political career, claiming he had been forced out by Democratic Party leadership. Now, as The Nation reports, another reason has appeared.

…It appears that an even bigger factor was a poll that showed Hackett trailing far behind his progressive primary opponent, U.S. Representative Sherrod Brown. With the filing deadline for the May Democratic primary rapidly approaching, Hackett was confronted with new numbers from his own pollster, which showed Brown was ahead among likely voters by an almost 2-1 margin — 46 percent for the congressman to 24 percent for Hackett.

While we certainly would have hoped that the dynamic Hackett would continue his career by running again in the Ohio 2nd, this news does leave doubts about his long-term viability as a Democratic candidate in these ferocious political times. Hopefully Mr. Hackett will sit down with us soon and tell us the full story.

In a stunning move today, Paul Hackett ended his political career by dropping out of the Democractic primary race for U.S. Senate in Ohio. This move leaves Rep. Sherrod Brown as the lone survivor in this race and the presumptive nominee for the Democrats.

While it was predicted that Hackett would drop out today, all evidence showed that he would run against Mean Jean in Ohio’s 2nd district. He instead ended his career. Here is the text of the email he sent supporters:

Today I am announcing that I am withdrawing from the race for United States Senate. I made this decision reluctantly, only after repeated requests by party leaders, as well as behind the scenes machinations, that were intended to hurt my campaign.

But there was no quid pro quo. I will not be running in the Second Congressional District nor for any other elective office. This decision is final, and not subject to reconsideration.

I told the voters from the beginning that I am not a career politician and never aspired to be–that I was about leadership, service and commitment.

Similarly, I told party officials that I had given my word to other good Democrats, who will take the fight to the Second District, that I would not run. In reliance on my word they entered the race. I said it. I meant it. I stand by it. At the end of the day, my word is my bond and I will take it to my grave.

Thus ends my 11 month political career. Although it is an overused political cliché, I really will be spending more time with my family, something I wasn’t able to do because my service to country in the political realm continued after my return from Iraq. Perhaps my wonderful wife Suzi said it best after we made this decision when she said “Honey, welcome home.” I really did marry up.

To my friends and supporters, I pledge that I will continue to fight and to speak out on the issues I believe in. As long as I have the microphone, I will serve as your voice.

It is with my deepest respect and humility that I thank each and every one of you for the support you extended to our campaign to take back America, and personally to me and my family. Together we made a difference. We changed the debate on the Iraq War, we inspired countless veterans to continue their service by running for office as Democrats and we made people believe again. We must continue to believe.

Remember, we must retool our party. We must do more than simply aspire to deliver greatness; we must have the commitment and will to fight for what is great about our party and our country; Peace, prosperity and the freedoms that define our democracy.

Rock on.

Paul Hackett

I have no evidence to support this right now, but I can only assume there is dirt out there that someone is holding over Hackett’s head. Regardless of whether he would have won the primary challenge against Brown, Hackett could be a real candidate against Mean Jean for the house seat and it is a political shocker that he has chosen not to run.

DoubleSpeak will keep you posted on this situation as it unfolds and we will certainly be pushing Hackett for an interview on our show.

From Political Wire…

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the hard charging head of the DCCC, has openly asked candidate Paul Hackett to drop his bid for the U.S. Senate and run instead for the Ohio 2nd seat he almost won in a special election last year against mean Jean Schmidt. Remember this quote from mean Jean regarding Rep. Murtha’s calls to withdraw troops from Iraq:

Cowards cut and run, Marines never do.

Yeah, she sucks. And she’s going to lose regardless of whether Hackett runs or not.

This, on the same day that State Senator Eric Fingerhut reportedly dropped his bid for Governor in Ohio. This clears the field for Rep. Ted Strickland to run unopposed in what will be a critical bellwhether race for Democrats in 2006.

DoubleSpeak will be on the road in Ohio throughout this cycle bringing you all the juicy updates from the field!