Jennifer Brunner Enters Ohio Dem Senate Primary

One of the highest profile 2010 Senate races got a little more crowded on the Democratic side Tuesday, when Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced that she would run for George Voinovich's open seat.

Brunner's entrance is likely to be followed by Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher's, presenting Democrats with two major state-wide figures from which to choose. On the surface, the up-in-the-air primary would be something for the party to lament. Republicans in the state have all but handed the nomination to former Bush U.S. Trade Representative, Rob Portman.

But Democrats aren't sweating yet. Saying he wasn't worried about having two prominent candidates in the mix, one senior Democrat explained why: "With Rob Portman on the ballot in November, all of the sins of the past will be on the table. The people of Ohio can thank him for the job losses, the tax credits for corporations who move jobs overseas, and our trade imbalances."

Indeed, Portman's ties to the Bush years, as this source explained, represent perhaps the last and best chance for Democrats to run a national race against the 43rd president.

That said, questions remain as to who the party would like to see emerge as its candidate. Governor Ted Strickland, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, is committed to Fisher. "I believe Lee would be the strongest candidate if he were to choose to run. I don't say that to disparage Jennifer. She would be a very strong and credible candidate," he said.

And as Politico reported: "Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), who mulled running for the Senate seat, will now be endorsing Fisher," as well.

But others see a better opportunity in Brunner who, rumor has it, was privately discouraged from entering the race. As one Ohio Democrat predicted, the Secretary of State would do much better reaching the type of voters who supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. And while Fisher has strong roots in Ohio Democratic circles, the source wondered whether his support structure would be too confined to the major cities and establishment figures.

"The progressives in state, the folks that are in Sherrod Brown's camp," said the Democrat, "are going to line up behind Brunner. Unless Fisher can secure this thing early and show that he is the best chance that Democrats have of winning."

Comments

[TakeTheCanolis]

03:16 PM on 02/22/2009

Good luck, Secretary of State Brunner. You showed the Democratic Party what it can do when it calls out Karl Rove. Are you paying attention, John Kerry? In 2008, Rove tried to disenfranc­hise Ohio Democrats by demanding that these voters' personal informatio­n in the Motor Vehicle Department and Social Security records exactly match their voting records. If there were any clerical errors, the newly registered Democrat wouldn't be allowed to vote. State election workers would be faced with a huge, senseless workload.

Jennifer Brunner would have none of that. She appealed to the Supreme Court. SCOTUS told Rove and his boys to take a hike. Obama took Ohio and its 20 electoral votes. I don't live in Ohio, but I will be eternally grateful for what Secretary Brunner did. Republican­s fear that if Obama's stimulus package works, Ohio will go from a purple to a blue state for years to come.

If she wins the Senate seat, Democrats had better have another fighter like Jennifer to replace her as Secretary of State.

[eric20008]

12:05 PM on 02/19/2009

It is far more meaningful to see how Secretary of State Brunner's prospects are perceived in-state. And so far she's been setting the pace for the upcoming campaign. See the following couple of paragraphs from www.buckey­estateblog­.com.

"OK, I'm biased but here's what was posted on Buckeye State blog at the end of the first day of battle in Ohio:

"The Great Fisher Panic of 2009

Submitted by modernesqu­ire on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 6:45pm.

If anyone needed evidence to see why Lee Fisher is incapable of beating Rob Portman, you only need to look at the reek of panic the Fisher for Senate campaign emitted today. I'm sure the U.S. EPA had to be put on alert due to the fumes.

Before Sen. Voinovich announced his retirement­, Lee Fisher was the hands on favorite for the nomination­. He already had the support of our popular Governor and the Chairman of the ODP in his corner.

So why didn't Fisher press his advantage? There was absolutely no rational reason why Fisher formed an explorator­y committee, he already knew that he intended on running. In seeing the rush for Fisher to announce today and push the endorsemen­ts of Gov. Strickland and Congressma­n Tim Ryan, you have to wonder:. Seriously, why did Fisher feel the need to scrap his timetable and respond to Brunner so badly that it was painfully obvious that Brunner was leading him around by the nose?"

[brendanm]

02:30 AM on 02/19/2009

I've been ambivalent about Sec. Brunner entering the senate race, as the position of Secretary of State is so vital in Ohio (see: 2004 election). But now that she's entering the race (which was obviously going to happen once Emily's List started getting involved), I will enthusiast­ically support her. I think it is vital that we find a strong candidate to replace her as SoS, because we cannot allow Republican­s to damage democracy with that position again.

[blueskybigstar]

11:28 PM on 02/18/2009

Love this woman.

[jcwtts1]

07:28 PM on 02/18/2009

Gotta start raising money for her. Ohio could cost as much as 70 million in 2010.

J

[jimrs6]

05:16 PM on 02/18/2009

Very photogenic­.....

[TLV]

07:05 PM on 02/18/2009

Photograph­s are a fraction of a moment in time and rarely flattering­. And not that it matters what a person look like in their job, but I have seen Jennifer Brunner in person and she is very pretty. That said, I really wish she would stay on in her current position. She is fierce, reliable, the ultimate profession­al. She would be hard to replace.

[SillyGit]

04:09 PM on 02/19/2009

She is a lot more photogenic than John McCain.

That is the worst picture of her that I have ever seen. She is actually a very pretty middle aged woman.

More importantl­y, she is very competent and very qualified to be a Senator from Ohio. I have nothing but praise for her and she has my support because she earned it.

[AsISaid]

04:16 PM on 02/18/2009

Jennifer is the real deal. She's worked very hard to get where she's at. Intelligen­t, committed, and deserving of support.

Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher never saw an elected office he didn't want. He's always had an air of entitlemen­t about him. At a time when the State of Ohio needs leaders to attract jobs and create economic developmen­t, Fisher stepped down from his post of Director of Economic Developmen­t to seek this higher office.

Fisher is part of the entitled Establishm­ent. Brunner is self-made and formidable­.

Jennifer Brunner for Ohio Senator!

[Dandywalker]

04:43 PM on 02/18/2009

I agree with you. She didnt back down from the GOP's games during the presidenti­al election. After the stink of Ken Blackwell, ( only rival by the stench of Lake Erie), Brunner did a great job. She would be a great senator. By the way, I am Ohioan, thus I am free to talk about Lake Erie( it is a source of Pride, kinda unlike the sorry Browns, you gotta love them, noone else will)

[AsISaid]

07:23 PM on 02/18/2009

I'm a Buckeye too - you've depressed me now by mentioning the Browns....

[aliceinthewater]

08:27 AM on 02/19/2009

Well, you just took the post right out of my mouth. I'm signing up to work on her campaign.

[SillyGit]

04:15 PM on 02/19/2009

Good for you.

I'm in FL and so I can't do much but cheer.

I very much hope to see Senator Brunner in Washington DC. I am a fan of hers because of the EVEREST program. That was a great public service. In the Senate, she might be able to push to get HAVA fixed.

[swan1]

04:07 PM on 02/18/2009

Will Boehner and Mitchell ever get booted out ?

[4real]

03:20 PM on 02/18/2009

Well I hope a democrat will replace her because we don't want any future stolen elections.

[Eris23Skidoo]

07:31 PM on 02/18/2009

She wasn't an election thief. You must be thinking of the former Ohio Sec. of State who cheated Bush into winning Ohio in 2004. Ken Blackman, I think his name was.

[AsISaid]

09:40 PM on 02/18/2009

Ken Blackwell.

[brendanm]

02:20 AM on 02/19/2009

4real is saying we need another Democrat to replace her, because we know what Blackwell (Blackman? Freudian slip; perhaps you need to do some soul-searc­hing) did with that position. Also, with the 2010 census and the subsequent redistrict­ing, the SoS position is vital.

[SpeakSense]

02:49 PM on 02/18/2009

Thank Goodness worthless George Voinovich is retiring. After sticking it to the people of Ohio year after year by voting against anything and everything that would actually make a difference in a state that has lost over 100K jobs. Good-bye and good riddance.

[QuietAmerican]

02:39 PM on 02/18/2009

Excellent news!

Jennifer Burnner fought like hell and successful­ly used every legal avenue at hand to keep the GOP from implementi­ng their usual tactics of voter intimidati­on/suppres­sion/oppre­ssion in Ohio, therefore bringing about one of my favorite moments during election-n­ight coverage -- the look on Karl Rove's face when he was informed Obama had won Ohio.

Go, Jennifer, go!

[movecenter]

02:59 PM on 02/18/2009

I agree. Brunner did an outstandin­g job during the election..­..especial­ly given what she was up against with hardliner Repubs in the state. Would love to have her in the Senate.

[Grunty1]

01:44 PM on 02/18/2009

The distrinct is an easy Democratic win and Burris is almost certain to lose the primary, assuming that he is still in office in 2010...

[bubbuh]

02:15 PM on 02/18/2009

Burris is a Senator (temporari­ly) representi­ng Illinois. He does not plan to move to Ohio. Ohio voters are grateful.

[springsm]

02:42 PM on 02/18/2009

Yes, Ohio has their own star in John Boehner. Sherrod Brown IS doing a good job and Ohio can take some pride in that.