Jennifer Brunner falls short in Ohio U.S. Senate Primary

May 1, 2010

Jennifer Brunner fell short, receiving 45% of the vote on Tuesday, in her quest to become the Democratic nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat in Ohio. Billed as the underdog taking on the Democratic establishment in Ohio, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D-Ohio) isn’t giving up the fight to win the U.S. Senate race for the open seat vacated by the retiring Senator George Voinovich. Brunner built a strong grassroots organization that has kept her in the game despite her financial disadvantage. Her opponent Lt. Governor, Lee Fisher who was backed by the popular Governor Ted Strickland, won the primary election with 55% of the vote.

Cincinnati Ohio’s conservative leaning daily newspaper, The Enquirer, endorsed Brunner on Saturday, calling her the “feisty underdog, displaying resilience and good policy-making skills.” Jennifer Brunner is credited with taking on and cleaning up Ohio’s broken election process when she took office in 2007 as Ohio’s first female Secretary of State.

Jennifer Brunner has been lining up grassroots support as she travels throughout Ohio on her bus, The Courage Express.

In 2008 Jennifer Brunner was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, the nation’s most prestigious honor for elected public servants. She completed a massive review of the state’s election system and established The Voting Rights Institute.

To read the Enquirer endorsement, click here.

Here is what Politico said about Jennifer Brunner:

Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher defeated Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to win the Democratic primary for Senate. Fisher had the strong support of most of the Buckeye State’s Democratic establishment, including Gov. Ted Strickland. He outraised and outspent his opponent, who drove around the state on an old school bus and didn’t air a single television advertisement.

Despite those advantages, he won by less than half the margin that two recent polls had projected. That suggested both that the undecided broke Brunner’s way in the final days and that support among the base for Fisher’s fight against GOP nominee Rob Portman this fall could be somewhat tepid.