There Will Be Blood

     Ohio Senator George Voinovich (R) will not be seeking reelection this year.  That means that his Senate seat is now up for grabs.  This is going to be a bloody race for a Senate seat.
     The parties have chosen their nominees.  The Democrats have chosen current Ohio Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher as their candidate, and the Republicans have chosen former Congressman Rob Portman.  Both are fixtures in their respective sectors of Ohio politics and are strong, determined candidates.  Fisher has been in Ohio politics for 30+ years and brings the most clout with him out of the two.  Portman was a Congressman from Ohio’s 2nd District for 14 years as well as being the Director of the Office of Budget Management for the Bush administration from 2006-2007. 
     The two candidates are both hard campaigners.  Fisher already has started going negative with his campaigning as well as fundraising to replenish his depleted bank account after a bloody primary raced against Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.  Portman, however, who ran unopposed in his primary has close to 8 million dollars in his bank account which he is using on his Jobs for Ohio Tour.  However, Ohio is not an easy election environment for either party to compete in.  The northern part of the state is mainly Democratic and the southern part of the state is mainly Republican.  It is a perfect mix of all races as well as classes of people.  You can go from the rural eastern part of the state all the way to the western part of the state, which includes metropolitan cities such as Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton. 
     Personally, I endorse Rob Portman in this race.  He was my former congressman and he has the experience as well as the knowledge to vote in Washington with a clear head as well as judge with and independent opinion.  Lee Fisher, however, is a traditional Liberal Democrat.  He will only do what his party elders tell him to do, he will not form his own opinions.  He has also committed himself to much of the Obama agenda, which makes him a prime target for Tea Partiers and Conservative Republicans.  Ohio needs to replace a good senator with a great senator—and Rob Portman is just the person for the job.