In one of the Super Tuesday undercards, long-serving Ohio Congressman and former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich was defeated in a primary contest by even longer-serving Representative Marcy Kaptur. Kucinich and Kaptur were pitted against each other after re-districting merged their two northern Ohio districts into one, pitting the eight-term Congressman against a 16-term Congresswoman, who is the longest-serving member of Ohio's delegation. The two colleagues fought a surprisingly bitter party battle with accusations of corruption and yard-sign stealing between the former allies.

The defeat would appear to end the political career of one of Washington's most colorful characters — the vegan, anti-war candidate with the big ears and beautiful younger wife who once called for the impeachment of former Vice President Dick Cheney — but Kucinich had already suggested that he might run again, perhaps even this year. Kucinich had not ruled out talk that he might move to another state to seek a Congressional seat elsewhere. He could still get on the ballot in Washington state without even gathering signatures, if he gains an address and pays the filing fee by May 18. Kaptur even used that idea against him in campaign ads, suggesting he would abandon the state.

Kaptur will now face off against the Republican primary winner, Samuel Wurzelbacher, a.k.a., "Joe the Plummer," who became a household name and Republican symbol after confronting Barack Obama over taxes during the 2008 general election.

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Dashiell Bennett