Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is a true progressive champion running an historic grassroots campaign to be the first woman Senator from Ohio. New polling shows her closing to a statistical tie against primary opponent Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, a four-time candidate for statewide office who last won an election in his own right 19 years ago in a 1,234-vote squeaker.
Brunner's establishment-favored opponent in the primary is a prolific fund-raiser, but a lead in campaign money is no reason to concede a primary to a lackluster candidate. Brunner is well-known in Ohio, she has a track record of performing well among independents and in red parts of the state, and she's building a strong grassroots campaign that kicks off with canvassing this weekend.
She can win this race without big-dollar donations from corporate interests, but she needs the help of grassroots activists like you -- more after the break.
Full disclosure -- I am helping Jennifer Brunner with her internet outreach. I am doing this because she is the outspoken progressive and best general election candidate in this race. I am fed up with bland candidates foisted upon us by a party establishment of corporatist Democrats, and Jennifer Brunner is challenging that system head-on. Here is what she had to say in a recent post here on DailyKos:
It should come as no surprise that the root problems that caused the near collapse of our financial sector continue unabated. For too long we have relied on a political system that sends people to Congress based on their skill in sitting in a room making telephone calls to the wealthy and powerful to raise campaign money. Some candidates will not make a personal phone call for "as little as" $250. It is a terrible way to choose who represents us in Congress, leading to policies tainted by a lack of courage to stand up for middle class Americans who live on Main Street and are the mainstay of our economic well being.
Still ailing from the last recession and having been brought down even further by the mortgage crisis and credit crunch that launched this latest recession, Ohio is among those states that can least afford to continue to select members of Congress in the same old way. This Democratic primary presents us with an opportunity to change the old ways that were clearly demonstrated in last year’s Presidential election to be outmoded and dysfunctional to encouraging full participation in a robust democracy.
Campaign fundraising today, by conventional measure, is based on skill at gaining the support of principals and interest groups who have a lot at stake because of large corporate and financial interests. That is the establishment, and the establishment has too much invested to turn its sights toward the collective body politic -- the American people -- the real hope for a lasting economic and social recovery for this nation.
The conventional wisdom is that modern Congressional campaigns cost a fortune to win because only by buying massive amounts of TV and radio advertising can politicians convert voters to their cause, but in this case we have a candidate perfectly positioned to win through a grassroots campaign supported by small-dollar donations. People across Ohio already know Jennifer Brunner's name and have a positive impression of the work she's done to clean up Ohio's elections. Hundreds of followers have signed up to join the Brunner Brigade, her network of local grassroots supporters.
Now the campaign is gearing up the ground game. This weekend dozens of volunteer canvassers will be trained at locations around the state. The strategic plan calls for knocking on thousands of doors in the coming weeks. The way you can help is to make a small-dollar donation to sponsor a canvasser.
Our canvassers are strictly unpaid volunteers -- your contribution is for the cost of transportation and supplies. Each volunteer will need a clipboard, pens, a tee shirt, campaign literature, and canvassing sheets to use for canvassing, and of course hot coffee and refreshments. A gift today of $25 would sponsor one canvasser for one whole day; $50 would be enough to cover the costs of two canvassers; and $100 would pay the materials, refreshment, transportation and other costs of four canvassers.
The campaign has set a goal of raising $2010 by the end of this weekend to get the canvassing effort solidly underway. Contributors have already provided $875 over $1,100 specifically for this purpose -- enough to sponsor 35 over 44 canvassers. Can you please give $25, $50, or $100 to help us meet our goal?
As Jennifer says, she is blessed to have so many volunteers who are willing to work tirelessly to canvass for voters who share her vision of better times for Ohio, but we need your help. Your support makes all the difference to our success in reaching out to Ohio voters in this critical phase of the campaign!
Join the campaign at Jennifer Brunner.com
Follow Jennifer on Facebook and Twitter