Ohio Election Results

As expected in the Democratic Senate primary, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher won handily over Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

Lee Fisher’s convincing win in Tuesday’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary sets up a confrontation this fall with former Republican congressman Rob Portman of Cincinnati that may play a huge role in this year’s struggle between the parties for control of Capitol Hill.

In Tuesday’s primary, the Democratic lieutenant governor, a fixture on the Ohio’s Democratic political scene for nearly 30 years, easily defeated rival Jennifer Brunner, Ohio secretary of state. Fisher had 55 percent to 45 percent for Brunner.

He congratulated Brunner for a “hard-fought, substantive campaign” and threw some broadsides at Portman, the GOP nominee who had no opposition in Tuesday’s primary.

Fisher’s win sets up a fall campaign that will put a Cleveland Democrat who has been committed to much of the Obama administration agenda against a former Cincinnati congressman and Bush White House official who has been harshly critical of the Obama administration’s spending and tax policies.

Ohio voters also overwhelmingly approved extending the state's Third Frontier green jobs program for another 4 years.

“If you asked me two days ago whether we would receive this much overwhelming support, I probably would not have bet on it,” said Matt Cox, campaign director for the pro-Issue 1 United for Ohio Jobs and Future campaign. “In this economy, with a lot of skepticism especially of government, we told a story of a program that is creating real jobs for real Ohioans.''

The measure was approved by 62 percent of the vote.

Issue 1, technically a constitutional amendment, gives the state another $700 million in bonds to extend Third Frontier from its current scheduled expiration date in 2012 until 2016.

Advocates and state officials say that the original $1.2 billion program has created at least 11,000 jobs, hundreds of new high-tech startup companies, helped spark new research at the state’s universities into high-tech, job-creating areas, and helped the state turn away from its traditional manufacturing focus.

The returns included large positive margins in mostly rural counties, which have not received much Third Frontier funding to date.

“We worked hard in the campaign to make a case in the rural counties, and even got the Ohio Farm Bureau to endorse the issue,” pro-Issue 1 campaign co-chair David Wilhelm said. “The renewable energy case is an important one for the rural part of our state.”

Considering the job losses in Ohio due to the recession,  I'm not surprised in the least.  Ohio's a working class state and always has been.  The people that did care enough to vote yesterday clearly agreed that Ohio needs new industries in 2010.

Personally I was cheering for Jennifer Brunner, but either way Rob Portman is going to be tough to beat with his overwhelming money advantage.  I just don't see how the Dems pull this one off.  Meanwhile in Indiana, Dan Coats won the GOP primary.