In Ohio, Democrats are targeting 21 districts in an effort to win control of the state house. Republicans currently hold a seven seat majority (53/46) in the chamber.

Obviously, we're not trying to pick up 21 seats -- we first have to protect a number of incumbents in Republican-leaning districts before we can cut into GOP margins.

So what's the game plan?

According to Scarlett Bouder, communications director for the House Democratic campaign, it's a lot of things:

"There's no silver bullet. It's a combination of many factors, including polling, the governor's past performance, as well as the [Democratic performance index]."

Democratic fundraising is thus far outstripping expectations, which has led an important breakthrough -- Democrats have made an effort to ensure that every candidate in each of the targeted districts has a campaign staffer to help manage the race.

And that is terrific news -- dedicated, professional staff help candidates run more effective campaigns.

This November, Democrats in Ohio need to pickup just four seats to take control of the House of Representatives for the first time in almost 15 years.

But even in a state where the local GOP has taken plenty of lumps, it can still be really hard to defeat an incumbent.

Unless of course, the incumbent decides to take another job courtesy of Gov. Ted Strickland:

The Strickland administration announced yesterday that it is creating a $115,000 position in the Ohio Department of Development for three-term Rep. Jim Raussen, R-Springdale.

Raussen won re-election in 2006 by only 4 points, and Democrats expected to pay at least some attention to the seat again this year. Now, the 28th District in Hamilton County likely moves up on their target list.

Also yesterday, Sen. Robert F. Spada, R-North Royalton, informed House GOP campaign leaders that he would not seek election to the competitive 18th District in Cuyahoga County. Republicans say they are being told that Strickland also plans to name Spada to a government position, possibly on the State Employment Relations Board.

The Republicans who are still trying to protect their majority are crying foul, but their protests ring pretty hollow. Here's to hoping a few more GOP legislators are looking for new positions in about three months.