As reported by Joe Hallett in the Columbus Dispatch and noted on Ohio 15th and Plunderbund this morning, State Sen. Steve Stivers (R-Upper Arlington) of the 16th Ohio Senate District has changed his mind and will jump into the contest to replace retiring Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Upper Arlington) in the 15th Ohio Congressional District. Stivers is an Iraq War vet and a state senator for five years. In short, he is a relatively high-profile adversary for Franklin County Commissioner and well-funded repeat candidate Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Columbus).

More after the flip.

Hi Everyone,

I'd like to start out by highlighting that this is not a post about Presidential politics.  There's so much of that going on, I thought we might need a break.

I am here to ask for your help, on behalf of five outstanding Democratic challengers running for the US House and Senate.  Helping our challengers face their challenge should be a goal for all Democrats, regardless of whom we support for president.

http://www.actblue.com/page/thechallenge rs?refcode=mydd

Editor's note from the Massa for Congress blog team: Eric Massa will not be live-blogging today.  He is on the road taking his son to freshman orientation.

It has been said the eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.  The broader quote could have been written today:

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty--power is ever stealing from the many to the few.... The hand entrusted with power becomes ... the necessary enemy of the people. Only by continual oversight can the democrat in office be prevented from hardening into a despot: only by unintermitted Agitation can a people be kept sufficiently awake to principle not to let liberty be smothered in material prosperity.

First off, I just want to say what a great time I had at the YearlyKos fundraiser in Washington, DC, on Tuesday night. It was a blast to meet a lot of folks I've only heard about online. You can see some of the pictures from that event, including a photo of me with Dengre, in NYBri's recommended diary.

As many of you know, I defeated Richard Pombo, a seven-term Republican incumbent, and was elected to Congress in 2006 on a wave of grassroots and netroots support. But, what many of you may not know is that I ran in 2004 and lost.

Sometimes, it takes more than one election cycle for voters to realize it's time for a change. That's why I am proud to post the following request of MyDD'ers today.

Come over to the other side of this diary for the rest of the story.

According to the Ohio Secretary of State's web site, the current totals in the race for Ohio District 15's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives are as follows:

Franklin County
Mary Jo Kilroy:  87,661 (51.43%)
Deborah Pryce:  82,771 (48.57%)
Total:  170,432
Margin:  Kilroy by 4,890

Madison and Union Counties
Kilroy:  10,439 (35.62%)
Pryce:  18,865 (64.38%)
Total:  29,304
Margin:  Pryce by 8,426

District 15
Kilroy:  98,100 (49.11%)
Pryce:  101,636 (50.89%)
Total:  199,736
Margin:  Pryce by 3,536

We want Democrats to win. And we want to stop genocide in Darfur.

Can we do both at the same time?

Earlier today a friend of mine who works at MoveOn.org sent me an incredible ad that explains to Columbus, Ohio voters what a total doofus they have for a representative in Congress, Deborah Pryce. It's not inflammatory or even controversial and they don't even doctor her up to make her look like a physical mess the way Adam does at the DWT Art Department. It's just very factual and straightforward. Watch it: right here or go to the MoveOn.org page that has this + similar ads informing voters about Nancy Johnson in Connecticut, Thelma Drake in Virginia and Chris Chocola in Indiana here.

Anyone who cares about politics in Columbus, Ohio....hell, anyone who cares about politics in the United States...should read this article by Jeff Zeleny of the Chicago Tribune covering an event with DCCC chair Rep. Rahm Emanuel in Columbus, Ohio last week: