DaytonDailyNews.com

COLUMBUS — Cynthia Ruccia's a troublemaker and she's proud of it.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, the suburban Columbus woman abandoned her longtime allegiance to the Democratic Party. Instead, she backed Republican John McCain for president.

Ruccia and her allies didn't much like the way the Democrats and the news media treated Hillary Clinton. They thought it was sexist.

Just to make the bashing bipartisan, they didn't much like the treatment McCain's running mate Sarah Palin got either, for similar sexist reasons.

Ruccia, who once ran for the U.S. House as a Democrat, hasn't packed up her protest and gone away. She's a co-founder of The New Agenda, a national group formed to advance women's rights, including at the ballot box.

She's zeroing in on U.S. Sen. George Voinovich's decision not to seek re-election in 2010 and the opportunity – or lack of opportunity – it offers to qualified women candidates in Ohio, including Republican state Auditor Mary Taylor and Democrat Jennifer Brunner, Ohio's secretary of state.

Right now, the Senate race appears to be shaping up as another clash between two white guys. Ohio never has elected a woman as U.S. senator. Democrat Mary Boyle of Cleveland ran against Voinovich in 1998 but got crushed.

The Ohio Republican Party can't officially endorse in primaries but new state GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine and his allies have made clear that former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman of suburban Cincinnati is their man. Portman spoke at the party's luncheon following DeWine's election as chairman. Taylor wasn't on the program.

On the Democratic side, there's no clear frontrunner but Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher appears to have the inside track if he decides to run.

Because things are moving faster for Republicans, that's where Ruccia is making her biggest push.

"There needs to be some organization to stand up and help a woman like Mary Taylor if she wants to run for the Senate to have a shot at it," Ruccia said.

Republicans, incidentally, have done a much better job of promoting women for statewide office than Democrats. Three Republican women now sit on the Ohio Supreme Court and Republican women have served as governor (Nancy Hollister for 11 days after Voinovich resigned in 1998 to join the U.S. Senate); lieutenant governor and attorney general, as well as auditor. Also, Republican Jo Ann Davidson served as speaker of the Ohio House, the only woman to hold that office. Two Democratic women have served as state treasurer.

This time around, there's a two-word reason that a Taylor candidacy scares Republicans and a Brunner candidacy frightens Democrats — Apportionment Board.

The auditor and secretary of state as well as the governor sit on the board along with a member of the legislature from each party. The board will draw new state legislative districts based on the 2010 census and the party with three seats on the board will have the upper hand.

Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland is expected to run for re-election and appears to be the favorite. If either Taylor or Brunner opted for the U.S. Senate race, her party would lose the advantage of having the incumbent in the re-election battle.

Ruccia said she understands the "practical reasons" the parties have for keeping Taylor and Brunner in their current jobs.

There are other reasons, however. U.S. Senate seats seldom come open and there are no "turns" in politics. Taylor, 42, and Brunner, 51, are still considering their options, aides said last week.

If they pass up the chance for the Senate race, it's hard to tell when there'll be another one.

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1608 or whershey@DaytonDailyNews.com.