According to this story from the Associated Press, State Senator Joy Padgett, who is trying to replace the retiring-under-a-cloud Bob Ney in Ohio, may be ineligible due to a technicality:

One Republican strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity, said lawyers had concluded Padgett was likely covered by the so-called political sore loser's law and thus would not be eligible to run.

But Bob Bennett, the state party chairman, said he didn't believe the law applied to her, and said he would seek a formal ruling from the secretary of state.

One official said the legal controversy arose at least in part because the law as drafted differed from what lawmakers had said they intended -- which was to prevent a primary loser from later filing as a candidate in the same race.

This law was intended to keep losers of primaries from filing as independents in the general election, but the wording was awkward and might prevent Padgett from entering a second primary to replace Ney. This is clearly beyond the intention - you're not a "sore loser" if the winner later drops out - of the law, but it could still apply.

There is an out, though, if Ney delays the formal notice of his withdrawal:

Ohio law requires a primary if a candidate withdraws or dies more than 80 days before a general election. However, the county where Ney would file his official notice of withdrawal, Tuscarawas, had not received Ney's filing Monday.

If Ney were to wait until after the 80-day cutoff -- which would be Aug. 21 -- there is a four-day window in which county party officials could appoint a replacement, said James Lee, a spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.

As usual, as we've seen in Texas with Tom DeLay, the Democrats try to use legal manuvers to accomplish what they could not in a straight vote. Padgett seems amused by the whole thing, though: ""I'm sure they're going to try to saddle me with that baggage. They're not running against Bob Ney. They're not running against Bob Taft. They're running against Joy Padgett. It will be a very clear choice between myself and Mr. Space," she said.

You go, girl! Besides, why would Ohio need another "Congressman Space" when they already have Denis Kucinich?