Ohio may not be a wasteland for competitive congressional races after all.

Prior to the 2012 elections, Republicans did a masterful job redrawing the Buckeye State’s congressional lines in order to minimize takeover opportunities for either party.

But in Ohio’s 6th District, former state Rep. Jennifer Garrison looks like the likely Democratic nominee after state Sen. Lou Gentile declined to run. Harrison would face Republican Rep. Bill Johnson in the general election.

According to GOP operatives familiar with the state, Garrison should be taken very seriously. She has a reputation as a conservative Democrat who has won in the Republican areas of the district before and is regarded as a strong campaigner.

The race certainly won’t be easy for Democrats. Johnson easily defeated former Rep. Charlie Wilson, 53 percent to 47 percent, in 2012. And both Mitt Romney and John McCain carried the district, 55 percent and 53 percent, in the past two presidential elections, even though they both lost statewide.

Although the race is just beginning, we’re changing the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call rating from Safe Republican to Republican Favored.