Sen. George Voinovich has outspent his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Eric Fingerhut, eight to one, but said he is making no assumptions about who will win the Senate seat.
I learned a long time ago to never take an election for granted. I always run like I'm running against the devil himself
said Voinovich, R-Cleveland.
Voinovich has spent about $8.1 million as of Oct. 13, and Fingerhut has spent about $1 million as of Sept. 30, according to http://www.opensecrets.org.
Fingerhut, of Shaker Heights, said the gap in fund raising illustrates the differences between them.
You've got one candidate an incumbent who has done nothing but raise money from special interests who had $8 million of ads on television...and then you have a grass-roots candidate
who has run on ideas and vision
Fingerhut said.
Voinovich said the money he spent on advertisements was needed to remind people of who he was and what he has been doing in the Senate.
It is so hard to get press coverage when you are in the Senate
Voinovich said.
He helped create the Department of Homeland Security, which he called the largest reorganization of the federal government since the defense department.
He also said he fought extremist environmental groups he claimed were trying to shut down the coal industry.
Two years ago
when the Democrats controlled the Senate
they were going to put us out of business
Voinovich said. They were going to put some Draconian emission standards that would force our utilities to go to natural gas and drive up our electric costs so that our businesses would be driven other places.
Fingerhut, however, is not impressed with his Republican opponent and said Ohio needs a change.
Voinovich has no vision and no plan for the future
Fingerhut said, in his stop in Athens yesterday.
He also charged Voinovich with supporting economic policy that helped turn a surplus into an enormous deficit.
Fingerhut stopped in Athens as part of a 200 Cities in 200 Hours tour, counting down to when the polls close. The bus tour follows a 450-mile walking excursion he made through Ohio to meet constituents.
We came to Athens as part of those 200 cities to remind people of the urgency of the election coming up next Tuesday and to urge people to vote
Fingerhut said.
Fingerhut started the tour at 11:30 p.m. Monday morning in Columbus, exactly 200 hours from when the polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 2.
He also wrote a book called Making Ohio Great Again
