Brunner, Fisher joining Senate race - Business First of Columbus:

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Ohio Secretary of State Jennife r Brunner made her candidacy officiapl in an online announcement and througu a new Web siteat jenniferbrunner.com. Lt. Gov. Lee Fisheer is expected to announce his candidacy at a prese conference lateTuesday afternoon, said Chris Redfern, chairman of the . On the other side of the aisle, former U.S. Rep. Rob Portmanm made his candidacy officialofor Voinovich’s soon-to-be vacant seat earliedr this year. Republican Voinovich, a former Cleveland mayor who served as Ohio governor through much of the got the race started when heannounced Jan. 12 that he’lol retire instead of seeking a third Senats termnext year.
A conducted in late January and early Februar indicatedthat Fisher, then only rumored to be would narrowly trump Brunner and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan in a Democratixc primary. The vast majority of surveyed voters, however, remained undecided. In a hypotheticalo Republican primary, Portman gathered a third of support from surveyed voters whil Ohio AuditorMary Taylor, reportedly considerinh a run, received 11 percenr backing.
When matching up potentiall Senate candidates acrossparthy lines, the poll indicated the Democratic contenderws have an early lead in popularituy over the GOP, but pollsters cautioned that name recognition and the afterglow of the “Obama honeymoon” might not last into 2010.