Perhaps you've heard about the recent allegations from Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner (D-OH) that DSCC chairman Bob Menendez has threatened to use their resources to force Jennifer out of the race because her primary opponent is outraising her. These comments have not been denied by Menendez, but instead have been met with a telling and suspicious silence. No response from either the DNC or the DSCC.
That's because the allegations are true, and its something that Democrats across the country should be concerned with. As we learned in Massachusetts earlier this week, money alone cannot win elections. The DNC's candidate of choice in Massachusetts, Martha Coakley, was a solid fundraiser, but a rather unremarkable candidate. There has been a lot of blame and finger-pointing, but most can agree that there was very little grassroots support, and the candidate herself seemed unwilling to campaign on her own behalf.
So what about the DSCC's candidate of choice in Ohio, Lee Fisher? There is no doubt that the man can raise funds, but let's look at his record. In the last two elections where Lee Fisher was the sole candidate on the ballot (as opposed to 2006, where he was on a joint ticket as Gov. Strickland's Lt. Gov.), he lost the elections despite outraising his Republican challengers. In this specific Senate race, the likely Republican challenger, Rob Portman, is outraising Lee Fisher. Can Democratic primary voters, and the DSCC, really expect Fisher to beat an opponent with MORE money than he has, when he can't win races in which he wins the money battle? Not likely.
As for the candidate himself, Fisher is viewed as an incumbent, and with the economy in the tanks, that will hurt him. Perhaps his Achilles' heel is that he served as Ohio's Director of Development for a large part of this recession, only to resign when he realized that Ohio was going to keep losing jobs, and that continuing as the Director of Development might hurt his campaign. His job was to build industry and to attract jobs. How'd he do? Well, he lost a couple hundred thousand jobs, and then decided that it was time to call it quits. Fisher is also viewed as a career politician -- he has been involved in Ohio politics for decades, and during those decades, Ohio voters have rejected him -- twice.
With Jennifer Brunner, it's different. The job she was given in 2006 was to clean up Ohio's election system after the debacles in 2000 and 2004 that made Ohio notorious. She's done that, and Ohioans are grateful. Brunner has won all of the elections in which she's run. She's youthful and charismatic, and her positions appeal to the youth vote, which could likely be the deciding factor in not just the Senate race, but the election of the Governor, Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer and Secretary of State, who could all use the youth vote that Jennifer will help to turn out. Also, Brunner has established a strong network of grassroots support. Hundreds of people have spent hours canvassing their neighborhoods for Brunner. In January. In Ohio. That takes dedication, and is further proof that while the money may be behind Fisher, the people are behind Brunner. Jennifer herself has taken an innovation tour, visiting the leaders who are helping to renovate Ohio's industry for the 21st century. She's visited the cities and she's visited rural areas to see how this sour economy has affected Ohioans. Jennifer has even gone canvassing door to door, something that Martha Coakley -- err, I mean Lee Fisher, hasn't found the time to do yet.
So, if you're tired of the DNC and DSCC making the same mistakes in Ohio as they did in Massachusetts, I encourage you to donate to Brunner's campaign. If you can spare $100, $75, $50, or even $25, we can make sure that November 2, 2010 is a lot more like November 4, 2008 instead of January 19, 2010.