Former Harvard teaching fellow John J. Cranley lost his bid to be a member of the U.S. House of Representatives last night.

As of early this morning, Cranley's opponent, Rep. Steve Chabot, was receiving 58 percent of the vote. Cranley was receiving 40 percent.

The 1999 law school graduate was tapped at the last minute to run, unopposed, for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Ohio district, which includes parts of the city of Cincinnati and its western suburbs.

In his bid, Cranley gained not only experience and name recognition in political circles, but also a small amount of nationwide fame as the subject of an MTV documentary about youth and politics, called "True Life."

Chabot, a "Gingrich Freshman," was running for his fourth term.

The Democratic leadership labeled this district vulnerable in 1998. It had been represented by a Democrat before Chabot took office. That year, Roxanne Qualls, a popular former Cincinnati mayor, ran against Chabot and lost.

According to Cranley, the Democratic National Committee considered Qualls the most likely to win of any Democrat, and wrote the district off as unwinnable in 2000.

The Cranley campaign wanted to change this perception and force the race onto the national agenda.