"In the words of 1987 inductee Roy Orbison, 'It's over.'"

The Wall Street Journal puts out a daily e-mail called The Political Diary.

Today they seem ready to call Ohio for Kasich - and, just as we mentioned here on 3BP after the indictment, it seems Strickland has the corrupt Democratic Party in Cuyahoga County to thank for it.

Though Gov. Strickland carried all of Northeast Ohio's counties in 2006, Mr. Kasich has been campaigning hard in this traditional Democratic stronghold, which has been whacked by the recession and now the scandal. Thousands of local Democrats have switched party affiliation to the GOP. When President Obama gave his Labor Day speech at Cuyahoga Community College, about 75 students had to be collared to fill vacant seats. After the Dimora indictment, one prominent Democrat noted: "Dimora and these guys were responsible for turning out the vote. There isn't going to be anybody turning out."


[...]


Should Mr. Kasich become Ohio's governor this November with support from those heavily populated, blue-velvet northeastern counties, watch next year for a trail of GOP presidential hopefuls making pilgrimages to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in downtown Cleveland. In the words of 1987 inductee Roy Orbison, "It's over."

As the WSJ notes, we can't overstate the importance of these scandals in Cuyahoga County. Not only has their GOTV machine been heavily damaged on their home turf, but residents of Cuyahoga County have become even more turned off by politics and the corruption of the left. Sure, some may not vote for Kasich, but they'll be hard pressed to pull the lever for Strickland.