Ohio Democrats did not get its first-choice candidates in three House races they believed were winnable, according to documents from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee leaked to The Hill by the hacker or hackers Guccifer 2.0. A separate set of documents was posted to his website, containing documents on Illinois, New Hamshire and North Carolina with one document on Ohio.
“[State] Senator [Lou] Gentile is in all likelihood the only recruit who can put this Republican-leaning swing district in play,” reads a series of memos from DCCC Great Lakes Regional Political Director Jason Bresler about Ohio’s 6th District.
{mosads}The memos were addressed to Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), chairman of the DCCC, as well as Democratic Reps. Cheri Bustos (Ill.), Denny Heck (Wash.), Kurt Schrader (Ore.), Joyce Beatty (Ohio) and Raul Ruiz (Calif.).
Gentile ultimately opted against running
The Guccifer 2.0 documents show similar stories in two other Ohio districts the DCCC believed were winnable.
Ohio is just the latest state that Guccifer 2.0 has targeted with its leaks.
Guccifer 2.0 has claimed to be a Romanian lone-wolf hacker, but a large spate of evidence — including technical indicators and Guccifer 2.0’s inability to speak Romanian — lead most experts to believe Guccifer 2.0 is actually the cover identity for Russian intelligence agencies.
The hacker or hackers appear to be interested in embarrassing Democrats.
GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s compliments for Russian President Vladimir Putin has also led some observers to question whether the hacker or hackers are seeking to help the Republican.
Earlier Guccifer 2.0 leaks focused on Florida and Pennsylvania House races.
Democrats and Republicans are both uncomfortable with the hacks and select leaks.
At a press conference Thursday, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas) claimed both parties were being targeted by Russian hackers. He said President Obama should acknowledge Russia was behind the DNC and DCCC attacks so that the government could deliver a formal response.
Guccifer 2.0 is not to be confused with the now-imprisoned hacker Guccifer, real name Marcel Lehel Lazăr, who hacked political a number of politicos and celebrities, including Hillary Clinton advisor Sidney Blumenthal and earlier hack of Colin Powell.