Wehrman: Brunner looking  to give Fisher a  run for his money

It may be an off political year, but that's not the case for Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. Associated Press photo by Kiichiro Sato

Kiichiro Sato/STF It may be an off political year, but that's not the case for Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. Associated Press photo by Kiichiro Sato

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By Jessica Wehrman, Staff writer Updated 9:44 PM Sunday, May 17, 2009

Jennifer Brunner says she’s in the U.S. Senate race for the long haul.

She’s not running for the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. And she’s not running for re-election to her current job as Ohio Secretary of State.

Instead, as Brunner made clear in a memo to party activists this week, she will continue her bid against Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher in the Senate primary to replace U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, who will retire at the end of his term in 2010.

“She’s gaining momentum,” said Pia Brady, Brunner’s press secretary, who cites endorsements from unions and other Democratic groups as evidence. “She’s in this race and she’s not running for anything else.”

Still, Brunner faces the danger that Fisher will suck a lot of the air out of the Democratic primary before it even gets going. Already, he’s got key endorsements from Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, as well as U.S. Reps. Zack Space, D-Dover, and Tim Ryan, D-Niles, two rising Democratic stars who considered running for the seat themselves.

And Fisher made it clear in his first fundraising report of the race that he’s not afraid to nab some heavy hitters: He garnered donations from House Speaker Armond Budish, former U.S. Reps. Dennis Eckart and Ed Feighan and former state party chair David Leland. He raised $1.01 million in the first quarter of this year alone.

Not to be outdone, Brunner’s got her own heavy hitters. She’s raised money from some of the same rainmakers who gave heavily to Hillary Clinton’s and John Edwards’ presidential campaigns, and also scored money from former first daughter Caroline Kennedy. Oh, and there’s Jann Wenner, the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine.

But her final haul in the first quarter wasn’t nearly as large: She only raised $207,236 during the same time period.

Still, it’s early, and there are a handful of key Democrats who have yet to through their support behind either of the candidates.

Space said he didn’t feel any pressure either way, but still endorsed Fisher because he got to know him when Fisher served as director of development for the state.

He said it’s too early to determine whether the race will divide the party.

“The race isn’t for another year,” he said. “It’s not on a whole lot of people’s radar screens.”

One thing he doesn’t want to see: a tough, nasty primary. The lone Republican in the race, former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman,  R-Terrace Park, has already raised well over $1 million — money he can presumably bank for a tough general election battle.

“I’d hate to see a vitriolic, expensive primary,” Space said. “That’s not constructive, but it’s sometimes unavoidable.”

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