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Fall political battles could fuel record fundraising

Open seats and competitive races are driving fervor in Ohio, experts say.

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By William Hershey, Columbus Bureau Updated 12:23 AM Thursday, May 6, 2010

If money talks in politics, this year should be Ohio’s big scream.

In the marquee general election races — governor and U.S. Senate — all major party candidates except Democrat Lee Fisher in the Senate race have small fortunes on hand to get them to November.

What’s different is that down-ticket candidates for statewide races are raking in money like they’re at the top of the list.

“The stars are aligning for 2010 to be the year to break all monetary boundaries,” said Catherine Turcer, director of the Money in Politics Project for Ohio Citizen Action, a government watchdog.

Open seats, competitive races and the battle for control of the state Apportionment Board all are fueling what appears to be collective record fundraising.

The five-member board is made up of the governor, secretary of state and auditor, and a legislator from each party. The board will draw new state legislative districts based on the 2010 census. The party that controls two of the three statewide seats will have the upper hand in determining whether boundaries for 99 House seats and 33 Senate seats favor Democrats or Republicans.

There may also be an intangible factor behind the record fundraising, said Turcer. “We’re a country that’s really struggling with figuring out who to blame...We’re more and more polarized. In a way, that leads to a lot of fundraising,” she said.

U.S. Senate race

Republican Rob Portman, the former U.S. House member from suburban Cincinnati and former budget director and trade representative for President George W. Bush, has the most cash on hand of any candidate, nearly $8 million.

Lt. Gov. Fisher, the Democratic candidate, spent heavily on TV to win the primary against Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on Tuesday and ended up with just $906,738.

The winner will replace Republican Sen. George Voinovich, who is retiring.

Democrats have tough choices to make when it comes to fundraising, political scientist John Green said.

In Ohio, re-electing Strickland appears to be the top priority and nationally, endangered Democratic Senate incumbents usually would get priority over open-seat candidates like Fisher, said Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron.

“But the temptation to take a seat from the Republicans to offset other losses may be strong,” Green said.

Governor’s race

Strickland’s campaign likes to brag that the $7.1 million the governor has on hand at this point is a record, compared to $5.2 million for Republican challenger John Kasich. Strickland, however, kept on raising money after his election in 2006. But in 2009 to 2010 alone, Kasich, the former U.S. House member from suburban Columbus and former Lehman Brothers managing director, actually raked in more cash and in-kind contributions than Strickland, $7.1 million to about $7 million, according to the Money in Politics Project.

Kasich didn’t enter the race until June 1, 2009.

At the rate they’re going, Turcer said she expects the duo to raise more than the record nearly $29 million Strickland and Republican Ken Blackwell raised in the 2006 governor’s race.

Other contests

Three candidates — one Democrat and two Republicans — had more than $2 million on hand.

Democratic incumbent Attorney General Richard Cordray had about $2.2 million, but his Republican challenger, former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine of Cedarville, had $1.1 million and historically is a proven fundraiser.

State Sen. Jon Husted of Kettering, Republican candidate for secretary of state, had slightly more than $2 million, giving him a big advantage over the Democratic candidate for the open seat, Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, the Franklin County clerk of courts, who had $266,232 on hand.

Democrat Kevin Boyce, appointed state treasurer by Strickland, is the incumbent who has $790,998 on hand. The Republican candidate, state Rep. Josh Mandel of Beachwood, has $2.1 million.

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