On June 14, 2005, Schmidt finished first in the Republican primary, with 31 percent of the vote. McEwen finished second with 25 percent, Brinkman was third with 20 percent, and DeWine had 12 percent. Two days after the primary, an editorial cartoon in "The Cincinnati Enquirer", commenting on DeWine's marriage being such a factor in the primary, showed Schmidt asking Paul Hackett, who had won the Democratic primary, "You have a good marriage. I have a good marriage. What the heck are we going to campaign about?" Many politicos blame Dewine's barrage of attacks on McEwen as the main reason for Schmidt's win.