toledoblade.com --

Even after a year in prison, Tom Noe is still a player in Ohio politics.

The convicted felon and former Republican fund-raiser appears in recent television advertisements paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee supporting Robin Weirauch, the Democrat who is running for Ohio's vacant 5th Congressional District seat.

The campaign for State Rep. Bob Latta (R., Bowling Green), Mrs. Weirauch's opponent, and the National Republican Congressional Committee are planning to push back on what they consider attack ads against the GOP candidate.

"Democrats in Washington are resorting to false and defamatory attacks because they are ashamed of Robin Weirauch's abysmal record of supporting taxpayer-funded health insurance for illegal immigrants and higher taxes," Ken Spain, the NRCC's press secretary, said in a statement. "When you have a candidate like Robin Weirauch, who opposes gun rights and the repeal of the death tax, it shouldn't come as a surprise that she is relying on her liberal Democrat allies to distract from the issues."

What was once a race between two candidates touting their local appeal throughout the 5th District is now - one week before the Dec. 11 special election - flooded with national dollars and attention.

The DCCC spent about $150,000 on a TV spot that hit the airways last weekend and opened with the line: "Coingate, a scandal ensnaring Gov. Taft, Tom Noe, and career politician Bob Latta."

The Democrats' ad tells voters that Mr. Latta received more than $1,000 from Noe, who was convicted of stealing millions of dollars from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.

National Republicans immediately fired back, sending a letter to all the stations running the DCCC's ad and purchasing about $162,000 in ad-buys in Toledo yesterday.

The letter, drafted by Elizabeth Beacham, chief counsel for the NRCC, challenges the DCCC by saying Mr. Latta was "never charged with any crime, misconduct, or any other illegal activity" associated with Coingate.

"Such an accusation, whether stated or implied, is defamatory, per se," Ms. Beacham wrote.

The NRCC also urged the stations not to run the commercial, and said continuing to run it could "expose you to legal liability."

Representatives from ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC affiliates in Toledo all said the stations had either sent the letter to their legal teams or were reviewing it internally.

The DCCC, which was expected by many pundits to stay out of this race at its outset, got involved financially after party stars like Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) have actively supported Mrs. Weirauch.

"We saw the excitement of the people across the district, the Ohio congressional delegation, and Governor Strickland about the … special election and joined the effort," Jennifer Crider, communications director for the DCCC said in a statement. "Before voting, people deserve to know that Representative Latta is a career politician who was ensnared in the Tom Noe coin scandal and rebuked for lying about his political opponents."

David Wasserman, a Washington-based political analyst, said the national Democrats' spending was inspired partially by other motives.

According to the Federal Election Commission's Web site, the DCCC had $29.2 million on hand through October, while the NRCC had about $1.6 million, according to its most recent filing through September.

Mr. Wasserman said the Democrats are well aware of their cash advantage and are looking to exploit it.

"Democrats see this is as an opportunity to force Republicans to spend some money they'd rather spend on closer congressional races in '08," he said.

The Latta campaign has spent close to $200,000 of its own on television spots in the Toledo market since Nov. 20, and will undoubtedly use some of that air time to push back against some ads paid for by the Weirauch camp.

One Weirauch-sponsored TV spot begins with a newspaper clipping of Noe's conviction for illegally funneling $45,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign.

And in a radio spot paid for by the Weirauch campaign, the nation's soaring gas prices are linked to Mr. Latta through his financial ties to an oil company and other special-interest groups.

"We have to respond," said Matt Parker, the Latta campaign manager.

"We have to address some of these issues. Robin Weirauch, just like a politician, made a promise and went out and broke it," Mr. Parker said.

It was Mrs. Weirauch who began her march toward next week's special run-off vote by encouraging Mr. Latta to sign a clean-campaign pledge, and her camp chastised him for not signing it.

The Weirauch campaign has spent more than $130,000 in ad-buys with Toledo's four major networks.

"I'm a little shocked that they think the ads we produced are negative," said Brad Bauman, a spokesman for the Weirauch campaign. "It's not about negative campaigning, it's about pointing out Bob Latta's stances on issues."

Contact Joe Vardon at:
jvardon@theblade.com
or 419-410-5055.

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