STEVE INSKEEP, host: If any state symbolizes the declining fortunes of the White House, it is Ohio. That state's electoral votes gave the president a second term.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: Today, Ohio's Republican governor has some of the nation's lowest approval ratings. He pleaded no contest last year to charges regarding the acceptance of gifts. And an Ohio Republican, who raised money for the president, has been indicted for embezzling state investment funds.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: In this fall's elections for Congress, several Ohio Republicans are seen as vulnerable. One is Representative Bob Ney, who is linked to a lobbying scandal. Another is Senator Mike DeWine who has not faced a scandal, but does face a tough re-election fight.
Ohio's 20 electoral votes put President Bush over the top in the 2004 election. But two scandals involving Republicans have turned the Buckeye State into a target for Democrats.