Wulsin concedes to Schmidt in Ohio

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - Three weeks after Election Day, Democrat Victoria Wulsin conceded to Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt on Tuesday but suggested that she might run again.

CINCINNATI - Three weeks after Election Day, Democrat Victoria Wulsin conceded to Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt on Tuesday but suggested that she might run again.

The Associated Press declared Schmidt the winner Nov. 21 after the first provisional ballot tallies were reported in the 2nd District, but Wulsin said then that she wanted to make sure all ballots were counted before conceding.

"I definitely want to try again," Wulsin said.

Wulsin conceded just before Clermont County reported final unofficial results that showed Schmidt with an overall total of 120,112 votes, or 50.5 percent, to 117,595 votes, or 49.5 percent for Wulsin.

"I've worked hard in Congress for the people of southern Ohio, and I look forward to continuing that work thanks to the confidence that the voters have shown in me," Schmidt said in a statement.

Schmidt, a backer of President Bush's Iraq policy, gained national attention in Congress last year with a verbal assault on the House floor against Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), a Pennsylvania Democrat and decorated Marine veteran who served in Vietnam. Of Murtha's call to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, Schmidt said: "Cowards cut and run. Marines never do." She later apologized.

Also Tuesday, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, as expected, ordered counties to recount votes in the closely divided 15th District.

Rep. Deborah Pryce (news, bio, voting record), a seven-term Republican, won the Nov. 7 contest against Democratic challenger Mary Jo Kilroy by 1,055 votes — a small enough margin to trigger an automatic recount.

The three counties in the district must do a recount no later than Dec. 8, Blackwell said.

Pryce, until recently the No. 4 Republican in Congress, had seen her lead in the campaign turn sharply amid the scandal over Rep. Mark Foley (news, bio, voting record) and the handling of lurid messages he sent to congressional pages. Pryce had publicly named Foley as one of her best friends in Washington.