RUTHFULLY YOURS

George Voinovich currently holds this Senate seat, having first been sworn in back in January of ‘99. In January of ‘09, Voinovich announced his intention NOT to run for a third term leaving the field wide open for fresh faces to step forward and replace him. Though a Republican, Voinovich spent a fair amount of time on the wrong side of the aisle in Congress but his retirement provides Ohio with an excellent opportunity to put someone in that seat to help undo some of the damage the Democrat-held Congress has done.

Ohio held their primary on May 4, 2010. On the Democrat side, Lt. Governor Lee Fisher prevailed over Secretary of State Jennifer L. Brunner. On the GOP side, former Congressman and OMB Director Rob Portman was selected. DC Political Report shows Portman and Fisher running neck and neck in this race, and both CQ Politics AND the Washinton Post are calling this one a “Toss Up.”

Let’s take a closer look at the details of the race for this US Senate seat after the jump…

Wiki has a good summation of Portman, his backgound, and his career. His campaign website has pointers to where he stands on the issues at stake for Ohio and the rest of the country. Perhaps the biggest issue (though there are many) for folks in Ohio right now is jobs. Portman has a YouTube video that introduces his plan for addressing the jobs issue in Ohio. And, there’s a link to download the PDF called the “Portman Plan to create Ohio Jobs ‘A Path to Prosperity’” which details the “six pillars” of his plan to put people in Ohio back to work.

And, while Portman’s opponent Lee Fisher is busy telling folks he’s created jobs, (Ohio has actually LOST jobs under Fisher’s term as Lt. Governor) and is out and about rubbing elbows with big oil, big pharma, and a host of other special interests and lobbyists as reported HERE and HERE, Portman has been rolling up his sleeves and getting to work trying to solve problems for his fellow Ohioans.

Rob Portman has a DONATE page. According to the WaPo map, Portman is well ahead in donation dollars right now. Go to his About page, read up on where he stands, and consider donating…let’s keep him ahead, and help across the finish line in November. We already have enough Lee Fishers in Washington-we don’t need to send another one.