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Is map key to House wins?

Party that controls the process of redrawing legislative districts can influence elections for years.

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By William Hershey, Columbus Bureau Updated 10:42 PM Saturday, September 18, 2010

COLUMBUS — The battle for the control of the Ohio House is being fiercely waged in a handful of places around the state as Republicans eye a possible lock on the state legislature.

But in the Dayton area, where the delegation is mostly Republican, only one seat appears to be in play: the 72nd District, which includes Springfield and other parts of Clark County and is currently held by Ross McGregor.

The rest, thanks to districts drawn to heavily favor one party or another, appear safe for incumbents.

It’s a familiar story in politics. The party that controls the process of redrawing legislative districts once every 10 years can influence elections for many years to come.

Only about 20 of the 99 House seats on the ballot this year can be considered competitive, said Catherine Turcer, director of the Money in Politics project for Ohio Citizen Action.

The Democrats currently have a 53-46 majority in the House, meaning Republicans need four seats to regain the control they lost in 2008.

Dayton native Mary Anne Sharkey, a consultant who has worked for both Democrats and Republicans, said it appears that Republicans “are positioned to take the House.”

But while individual candidates may be the difference in some of these races, as important are the decisions made in the legislative map-drawing room nearly a decade ago.

In most cases, the key ingredients to winning isn’t knocking on the most doors and putting up the most yard signs.

More important are the decisions made in the legislative map-drawing room nearly a decade ago.

Because of the way the legislative map was drawn, said Sharkey, Republicans have an advantage, at least on paper, in far more districts than the Democrats.

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