second district until April 11, when he bought a condominium in Anderson Township; but DeWine did not live in the district until he bought a home there on April 6.) DeWine quoted correspondence from the Highland County Board of Elections claiming the Board had cancelled McEwen's voter registration for living in Virginia. DeWine also questioned McEwen's record on taxes, sending out mailings criticizing McEwen's vote on May 24, 1982 in the 97th Congress "in support of a Democrat budget that raised out taxes by $233 billion." Two mailings focused on this issue, one featuring a photograph of Ronald Reagan that was captioned "When President Reagan Needed Votes to Keep Taxes Low, Bob McEwen Said 'NO'", the other asking "Are We Still the Party of Lower Taxes?" Jean Schmidt, a former member of the Ohio House, benefited from the conservative vote being split by McEwen and Tom Brinkman. The official returns showed Schmidt had won with 14,331 votes (31%). McEwen finished second with 11,663 (25%), Brinkman was third with 9,320 (20%), and DeWine, who spent $1 million on his campaign, finished a distant fourth with 5,467 (12%). The remaining vote was split by the seven others, none of whom received more than 5%. Following the primary, McEwen campaigned with Schmidt in the general election against the Democratic nominee, attorney Paul Hackett. Facing Schmidt in 2006 On October 12, 2005, the Internet domain name BobMcEwenForSenate.com was registered. McEwen also considered a campaign for Lieutenant Governor as the running mate of Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, who sought to replace Bob Taft as governor. On December 16, 2005, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported McEwen was considering challenging Schmidt for her congressional seat in 2006 and had formed an exploratory committee. "I am in serious consideration," he told the newspaper. On January 18, 2006, McEwen confirmed that he would run in the May 2 primary against Jean Schmidt. He started his campaign with little in the way of reserve cash. "I won't let this distract me from my duties as a congresswoman," Schmidt told The Cincinnati Enquirer upon McEwen's announcement. "I have a job to do. I can't worry about this." Anti-pornography activist Phil Burress told the Associated Press that a race between Schmidt and McEwen would be tough. "They are two totally different types of personalities. Bob is a statesman, and I love that. Jean will get in your face in a heartbeat,