Three competitors have entered the ring to duke it out for a position in the U.S. Senate - only one will leave victorious.
U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, and Cincinnati resident Paul Hackett, both Democrats, will challenge the current officeholder, Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, in November 2006 for the spot.
Speculation whirled around Brown for months as to whether he would run for the spot. The Senate leadership recruited Brown in August, he said, but Brown had other commitments to attend to - namely overseeing the marriage of one of his daughters and sending two others to college in the past few months. But now, Brown said he is ready to have an effect in the Senate.
There is much more that one can do in the Senate
he said.
Brown has spent his past 13 years in the House of Representatives helping education in the state as well as trade, he said. If elected to the Senate, Brown said he would focus much of his efforts on jobs, education and health care.
Opposing Brown in the Democratic primary will be Paul Hackett, who garnered attention when he ran for a congressional spot in a heavily Republican county but narrowly lost the race. Hackett's impressive run in a heavily Republican district was because Hackett appealed to voters across the spectrum, spokesman David Woodruff said.
He's not a pencil pusher Woodruff said.
Hackett gained national attention not only because of his ambitious campaign, but also because he is a veteran, fresh from the war in Iraq, Woodruff said. Hackett served a complete duty for the Marines. In Iraq, Hackett checked off supply convoys as they entered and exited Baghdad, he said.
Even though Hackett will be competing against Brown in the primary, his main focus is on DeWine and getting new leadership for Ohio, Woodruff said.
The DeWine disaster has cost Ohio half a million jobs he said.
DeWine has served as senator for 11 years thus far, said John McClelland, spokesman for DeWine. He said calling DeWine's actions a disaster is typical finger pointing from the Democrats.
Tell me what DeWine has done as an individual to cost Ohio 500
000 jobs
McClelland said. DeWine even has been nicknamed the bodyguard of the poor in Washington, D.C., McClelland said, because of what DeWine has accomplished in the Senate in his two terms.
As a senator, DeWine is proud of helping pass two of the largest tax cuts in the nation's history, education initiatives and initiatives for more affordable health care.
DeWine will continue to work for similar issues, McClelland said, focusing mainly on education and creating jobs in the state.
It is important to look at the facts rather than follow the finger pointing by some, McClelland said.
Some try to point fingers
McClelland said, but they get cut out at the ballot box.
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Chris Yonker
