The governor race here in Ohio is heating up even more. First off, Ted Strickland has picked up the support of the FOP:

The Ohio Fraternal Order Of Police endorsed Democrat Ted Strickland for governor today, turning away from a Republican gubernatorial candidate for the first time in more than 10 years.

The organization, which represents 24,000 police officers, had little to say about why it likes Strickland more than Republican Ken Blackwell.

“Congressman Ted Strickland has a long relationship with us and has consistently supported law enforcement,” said Nick DiMarco, president of Ohio’s Fraternal Order of Police. “Ted is an honest and decent man. Not only is he what law enforcement in Ohio needs, we believe he’s what the state of Ohio needs, and we unanimously endorse him.”

Sadly there is a flip-side to this. The FOP is backing Mike DeWine for Senate:

A day after the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police backed its first Democrat for governor in more than a decade, it threw its firepower behind Republican Mike DeWine for the U.S. Senate, whom it’s backed before.

“Mike DeWine gets things done for police officers,” FOP president Nick DiMarco said in a statement. “Ohio’s police officers know that when Mike DeWine says he’s going to do something, he means it. He proved that with his leadership in fighting violence and helping its victims.”

And finally. Ken Blackwell is now pissing off the black community

A group of more than two dozen black leaders and activists from Cuyahoga County met Saturday in Warrensville Heights, a suburb east of Cleveland, to coordinate an out-reach effort to black voters on behalf of Democratic gubernatoiral candidate Ted Strickalnd.

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, one the city’s most influential black leaders, organized the meeting. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones and Warrensville Heights Mayor Marcia Fudge also attended.

Strickland’s rival, Republican Ken Blackwell, who is black, is actively trying to woo black voters from Cuyahoga County, the most Democratic vote-rich county in the state. Blackwell recently distributed a flyer that features a photo of a black man frightened by the sight of Strickland’s name. Blackwell also touted recently the endorsements of black ministers from Central Ohio.

And here is the flyer that sparked this fire:

(h/t to Pam’s House Blend)