Politico:
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner will be announcing that she's running, according to a senior Ohio Democratic operative. She will be declaring her candidacy in a statement to be released this afternoon.
If elected, Brunner would become the first woman elected to the Senate from Ohio.
Brunner will be receiving the endorsement of the women's group EMILY's List, which will help her raise the millions necessary for a statewide campaign.
This comes as something of a surprise, as Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland was engaged in something of a blocking pattern for his Number One, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher -- who has himself set up an exploratory committee and was expected to announce a decision within a few weeks. It remains to be seen whether Strickland and Fisher would want to go ahead with a major primary skirmish.
Two recent polls have actually shown Brunner in slightly weaker shape than Fisher against Rob Portman (PPP and Quinnipiac), although Brunner may be suffering a bit from a contentious election (and post-election) season after engaging in a number of battles with the Ohio GOP on early voting and the drawn-out OH-15 saga. (Although, according to Quinnipiac's latest, voter resentment on this score may be fading away.)
In any case, holding Brunner's SoS seat will be imperative for a lot of reasons. (UPDATE by Crisitunity: Of course, there's making sure that there's no voter suppression in Ohio in the 2012 presidential election. But Democrats also desperately need to hold the SoS seat for purposes of state legislative redistricting (decisions for which are made by a 5-member board, one member of which is the SoS). Dems hold a 3-2 advantage on the board right now, so holding the SoS seat is necessary to crack the current ridiculous pro-GOP gerrymander of Ohio legislative districts.)
http://swingstateproject.com
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