You can't be a "real maverick" and run for office, at least in Ohio.

It was a good choice for Senator George Voinovich to retire; now he should do it quietly. In our latest poll Ohioans disapprove of the Republican Senator 48:21. Voinovich won’t be any help to fellow Republican Rob Portman in his quest to fill the Senator’s vacant position. Not to mention, Ohioans aren’t fond of Washington insiders.

More Republicans disapprove of Voinovich than Democrats: 52 to 50. Maybe that’s because he has jumped the party ship one too many times for Ohio Republicans to handle. Many worried he might throw his vote in for the health care bill.

Senator Voinovich announced over a year ago that he wasn’t seeking a third term, following the release of dismal poll numbers showing the Senator losing to an unnamed Democrat. Unconcerned with public perception and reelection, such an announcement may have allowed the Senator the luxury of flexibility, freedom and ultimately the ability to be a real maverick.

Ben Lauderdale, a Princeton Politics Ph.D. student used a mathematical formula to find the real Mavericks in the Senate. Lauderdale based his rankings on the unpredictability of Congressmen’s voting records. He ranked Voinovich number two in the 110^th Senate.

Apparently, you can't be a "real maverick" and run for office, at least in Ohio.

The other Real Mavericks:

110th House:

1. Paul (R-TX)
2. Kucinich (D-OH)
3. Cooper (D-TN)
4. Flake (R-AZ)
5. Duncan (R-TN)
6. Stark (D-CA)
7. McDermott (D-WA)
8. Blumenauer (D-OR)
9. Taylor (D-MS)
10. Jones (R-NC)

110th Senate:

1. Feingold (D-WI)
2. Voinovich (R-OH)
3. Hagel (R-NE)
4. Reid (D-NV)
5. McCaskill (D-MO)
6. Byrd (D-WV)
7. Gregg (R-NH)
8. Kyl (R-AZ)
9. Coburn (R-OK)
10. Bayh (D-IN)