Although Driehaus passed on the 2006 race, he began planning a run for the district in 2008 almost as soon as the 2006 election cycle ended.
This was largely because he was barred from running for a fifth term in the state house.
Ohio's 1st district was very high on the target list for the Democrats in both 2006 and 2008.
Seven-term Republican incumbent Steve Chabot, elected in the Republican wave of 1994, had won the district consistently, but with varying margins.
 He had won the seat with less than 55% of the vote in four of his seven previous victories.

In previous elections, the 1st congressional district was hotly contested.
 It narrowly favored Democratic Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and United States Senator Sherrod Brown in 2006; and United States President George W. Bush narrowly outpaced Democratic nominee John Kerry by just 1 percentage point in the 2004 United States presidential election.
Driehaus was recruited for the race by Democratic party officials, and he received early contributions for this race from Nancy Pelosi, Steny H. Hoyer, James E. Clyburn, and Chris Van Hollen, that were included in his 2007 second quarter financial filings.
From the time of the first official announcement on May 3, 2007 and first financial filing deadline on July 15, 2007, the race has been closely watched in the national media, and Time described it as one of the 15 Congressional races to watch in the 2008 election.
The DCCC has named the district's race as one of the thirteen that it is supporting in hopes of ousting a Republican incumbent in the 2008 United States House of Representatives elections.

In the midst of the financial crisis of 2007–2010, especially the subprime mortgage crisis, one of the issues in the race has been the candidates stances on foreclosures.
The race was considered to be close.
As of October 14, 2008 (three weeks before election day), The Rothenberg Political Report considered the race to be a toss-up.
 A poll by Survey USA indicated that African-American turnout would probably determine who won the race.

Although a marginally Republican district, 27 percent of the district's voters are African-American — one of the highest percentages for a Republican-held district in the 109th Congress.
The district includes nearly all of Cincinnati's African-American voters.
In the November 4 election, Driehaus defeated incumbent Chabot with 52 percent of the vote, largely on the strength of a 16,000-vote margin in Hamilton County.
Barack Obama carried the district with 55 percent of the vote.
Although Driehaus passed on the 2006 race, he began planning a run for the district in 2008 almost as soon as the 2006 election cycle ended. This was largely because he was barred from running for a fifth term in the state house. Ohio's 1st district was very high on the target list for the Democrats in both 2006 and 2008. Seven-term Republican incumbent Steve Chabot, elected in the Republican wave of 1994, had won the district consistently, but with varying margins.  He had won the seat with less than 55% of the vote in four of his seven previous victories.
In previous elections, the 1st congressional district was hotly contested.  It narrowly favored Democratic Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and United States Senator Sherrod Brown in 2006; and United States President George W. Bush narrowly outpaced Democratic nominee John Kerry by just 1 percentage point in the 2004 United States presidential election. Driehaus was recruited for the race by Democratic party officials, and he received early contributions for this race from Nancy Pelosi, Steny H. Hoyer, James E. Clyburn, and Chris Van Hollen, that were included in his 2007 second quarter financial filings. From the time of the first official announcement on May 3, 2007 and first financial filing deadline on July 15, 2007, the race has been closely watched in the national media, and Time described it as one of the 15 Congressional races to watch in the 2008 election. The DCCC has named the district's race as one of the thirteen that it is supporting in hopes of ousting a Republican incumbent in the 2008 United States House of Representatives elections.
In the midst of the financial crisis of 2007–2010, especially the subprime mortgage crisis, one of the issues in the race has been the candidates stances on foreclosures. The race was considered to be close. As of October 14, 2008 (three weeks before election day), The Rothenberg Political Report considered the race to be a toss-up.  A poll by Survey USA indicated that African-American turnout would probably determine who won the race.
Although a marginally Republican district, 27 percent of the district's voters are African-American — one of the highest percentages for a Republican-held district in the 109th Congress. The district includes nearly all of Cincinnati's African-American voters. In the November 4 election, Driehaus defeated incumbent Chabot with 52 percent of the vote, largely on the strength of a 16,000-vote margin in Hamilton County. Barack Obama carried the district with 55 percent of the vote.
Steve Driehaus