Following up on analysis of polls in the Ohio Governor's race yesterday (see blogroll), today is packed with news about the US Senate race in Ohio, and the news is all good for Jennifer Brunner.
First, PPP is out with head-to-head polls of the race against certain GOP nominee Rob the Poor Portman. Secretary of State Brunner and Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher had been running about equally well against the Cincinnati Day School troglodyte. But now Brunner has a distinct competitive edge. Portman beats Fisher by five points, 41-36, but matches Brunner in a statistical tie, 38-37.
Ohioans may remain undecided about this race, but more and more are deciding they don't want Lee Fisher.
The even bigger news is that Michael Pryce MD, a Tea Party spoiler from NE Ohio, is entering the race as an Indy focused on repealing the HCR bill (good luck with that!). Did they teach you to share well at day school, Rob?
The link for the PPP Senate polling is: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/... The Pryce-less news is courtesy of the Hudson Hub Times at http://www.hudsonhubtimes.com/
The boost in Brunner's strength does not even reflect the recent flap about Fisher's desperation move for an ODP endorsement. In a nutshell, the Ohio Democratic Party has remained neutral in the contest, but Fisher filed an endorsement request last week, sensing he was about to lose the May 4 primary.
Lee, if you shoot yourself in the foot, you should make sure that your foot isn't in your mouth at the time.
Brunner, fresh from an endorsement by the Wood County Democratic Party, seized on the opportunity to call out Fisher for creating senseless party division. Between last Friday and Monday, well over 74,000 Ohio Democrats sent e-mail appeals to the ODP pleading for no endorsement. By Monday, Fisher could read the writing on the virtual wall, and he withdrew the endorsement request. But that was not before a whole lot of Ohio Democrats got clued in that Lee Fisher, the establishment choice, is an ass.
Much of this (minus my editorial comments) has been chronicled by Jennifer herself in two DKOS diaries since Friday.
Add it all up and we have the following:
- Brunner was already beginning to pull away from Fisher in head-to-head matchup against Rob Portman.
- Fisher has now put his maladroitness, to be polite, on display before the whole Ohio Democratic electorate.
- Portman will have a wingnut splitter drawing votes from him in November.
And what that means, dare I say it, is that Ohio may have the best Senate delegation in the nation come January, with Sherrod Brown and Jennifer Brunner representing our state.
Yes, there are many hurdles to overcome. One will be that Jennifer will have to find a way to distance herself from Mr. Strickland on the ticket. Strickland is doing far worse than she is in polls, and contrary to the Senate race, the principal third party draw in the Governor's race will be left-wing Green Party candidate Dennis Spissak.
We can win that U.S. Senate seat, however. Be satisfied. Be happy.
Donate to Jennifer at: http://www.jenniferbrunner.com/
UPDATE 1: Per request of the Brunner campaign below, here is a link to the Brunner Money Bomb: http://www.jenniferbrunner.com/...
UPDATE 2: Those of you in OH-02, when you vote for Brunner in the primary, also cast your ballot for David Krikorian. It's the only competitive congressional contest for Democrats in Ohio this year, where we hope to gain a seat (the seat of Jean Schmidt).