OHIO 6: Rep. Frank A. Cremeans (R) vs. Ted Strickland (D) South -- Portsmouth; Chillicothe; Athens

Frank A. Cremeans of the 6th District is perhaps the most vulnerable of Ohio's four freshman Republican House members. In 1994, he defeated one-term Democratic Rep. Ted Strickland by 2 percentage points, and this year Strickland is back for a rematch.

The race between the two men, who have each represented the district for two years, has evolved into something of a referendum on the popularity of the Republican agenda. Cremeans, a conservative who brought a business background to the House, has supported much of his party leadership's priorities on spending and other issues. Strickland, a psychologist, was seen as moderately liberal during his House service.

The 6th, the largest district in the state, includes some of Ohio's poorest rural areas, including Appalachian coal mining towns.

Strickland's campaign charges that Cremeans' voting record on issues such as restricting the rate of Medicare spending increases and restricting future spending on student loans hurts the district's working people. Strickland also criticizes Cremeans for voting to cut the earned-income tax credit for the working poor; Cremeans responds that his vote on that issue was part of a bill that also permitted families to take a $500-per-child tax credit.

Tax issues were also at the center of the first Cremeans-Strickland matchup in 1994. Cremeans then seized upon a Strickland remark shortly before Election Day in which the Democrat suggested the need to raise taxes to pay for health care reform efforts. Cremeans promptly ran television and radio ads depicting Strickland as a liberal advocate of higher taxes.

This year, Cremeans' campaign is focusing on his pledge not to raise taxes, and trying to contrast that position with Strickland's. But Strickland's campaign counters that the Democrat favors cutting taxes for working families in the district, while asking the rich and corporations to pay a little more.

Cremeans has been a target of labor unions, who have been running ads all year in the 6th relating to the Medicare issue.

The district is capable of split-ticket voting. In 1992, Strickland unseated veteran Republican Rep. Bob McEwen by 2 percentage points, but Republican incumbent George Bush won the district's presidential vote by fewer than 2,000 votes. The 6th, which has a Southern flavor and a conservative lean, had gone Republican by stronger margins than that in other recent elections: Bush carried it with 59 percent of the vote in 1988. No clear favorite.

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