George Voinovich (R-OH) is retiring, leaving an open seat in the US Senate in a state that has been a hotbed of competition between Democrats and Republicans in recent years. A Republican candidate is already putting ads on television.
Tom Ganley is touting his outside status, and his resume as a businessman and job creator. He has been dealing cars in Ohio since 1968 and currently is the biggest dealer in the state, with over 1K employees.
Ganley is taking on US Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH) for the Republican nomination. According to CQ Politics, he’s prepared to spend millions of his own money on the primary. Portman is also well funded, with $5.1M cash on hand in his campaign warchest.
Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner are contesting the Democratic nomination.
RBR-TVBR observation: This should guarantee a big political payday for Ohio broadcasters. An open seat, a double primary and what promises to be an extremely hotly contested general election race for the Senate seat will be enhanced by numerous hot Congressional races. The time to court political media buyers is now.
