Republican Sen. George Voinovich was victorious both in campaign fund-raising and the election in his U.S. Senate bid against his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Eric Fingerhut.
Voinovich outspent Fingerhut $8 million to $1 million and was easily re-elected to a second term. Voinovich received 64 percent to Fingerhut's 36 percent of votes, with 98 percent of the precincts reporting at print time.
Voinovich barely won Athens County with about 51 percent of the vote.
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, in a speech last week.
Fingerhut, of Shaker Heights, said last week 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.
Neither candidate could be reached for comment last night.
Fingerhut stopped in Athens as part of a 200 cities in 200 hours tour, counting down the hours to when the polls closed. The bus tour followed a 450-mile walking excursion he made through Ohio to meet constituents.
Voinovich lists his political experience as the reason he is more qualified for the position. As former Ohio governor, this campaign was his 17th in 38 years.
I'm needed in Washington because of my experience
my knowledge and my perspective
he said during the speech, adding that he is more connected to the problems faced by smaller cities in his district than many of his colleagues are in theirs.
Another asset he listed was his independence.
I try to be a good Republican but I do a lot of things on my own
he said.
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