Is everybody happy with Congress?

        Seems like it, when you consider that not a single Republican congressman in southwest Ohio will have a serious challenge this November.

        Not John Boehner. Not Steve Chabot. Not Rob Portman.

        Which means that tens of thousands of voters will not witness a competitive election campaign that exposes the differences between candidates on the issues of the day.

        Why is that?

        Well, the power of incumbency is the biggest reason.

        Common Cause makes the point: 98 percent of House members who ran for re-election in 2000 won. House incumbents had a 4-to-1 advantage in fund-raising over challengers. You need money to buy TV ads, hire staff, print posters and fliers, and run an office.

        Republican incumbents have a big advantage here. Mr. Boehner was elected to Congress in 1990. He raises $1 million or so each election. President Bush came to his 8th Congressional District to honor him for writing education reform. Clearly, his constituents in Butler County and parts north are comfortable with him.

        They may not know Jeff Hardenbrook. Mr. Hardenbrook ran for the Dayton school board in 2001, finishing ninth in a field of nine. Mr. Hardenbrook is the Democrat who will run against Mr. Boehner this fall.

        Voters know Mr. Chabot from four terms in Congress in the 1st Congressional District. They know he is a conservative Republican. They see and hear his message because he raises $1 million or more to deliver it.

        He has no Democratic opponent at this point.

        Voters also know Mr. Portman. They know he's close to President Bush and Vice President Cheney. They know he writes legislation on taxes, pensions and Internal Revenue Service reform.

        They may not know Charles Sanders, Ray Mitchell or Tom Stephens. They are Democrats who will be in the May primary. The winner runs against Mr. Portman in November. Messrs. Sanders and Mitchell don't live in the 2nd Congressional District, which is OK under the law but maybe not with voters.

        For the northern part of Warren County, the new 3rd Congressional District is open because Democratic Rep. Tony Hall of Dayton said he would not run.

        Three Republicans are duking it out in the May 7 primary — Roy Brown, Gregory E. Hunter and Michael R. Turner. Mr. Hall's chief of staff, Richard Carne, is the Democratic candidate.

        Mr. Hall was so popular that he didn't have a Republican opponent in 2000.

        Speaking of no choice, take a look at the lineup for judicial seats in Hamilton County.

        Republicans have 11 unopposed candidates for seats on the common pleas bench. That includes Charles J. Kubicki Jr., who has never run for office before. Democrats have one unopposed incumbent — Judge Ann Marie Tracey.

        The only race in November is between two first-time candidates, Democrat Bruce Whitman and Republican Fred Nelson.

        Political Notebook appears Sunday. It is compiled by Politics Editor Ron Liebau, 768-8396, or e-mail at rliebau@enquirer.com.

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