Progressive Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) may have a harder time getting reelected than some observers thought. Ohio state Treasurer Josh Mandel (R), a 33 year-old Iraq War vet and former state Representative in his first year of statewide elected office, raised $2.34 million in the last fundraising quarter, significantly more than the $1.5 million Brown hauled in between April and June.
Brown still has an impressive $3.5 million cash on hand for his reelection bid, and Mandel still has a Republican primary to deal with. In fact, Mandel has not yet made an official campaign announcement, though he’s been raising money for a Senate races and gathering up endorsements for months.
Among those standing with him, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, are Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and the Club For Growth, heavy-hitters in the conservative community and the kind of backing most any Republican making a serious run for office would want.
Mandel is touting his total as the most of any challenger running for Senate in the country. Those are the kind of numbers that bring in national support and vault you into frontrunner status.
Recent polling has shown Brown in a good position heading into 2012. A PPP (D) poll from May showed Brown leading Mandel 48-31. In a hypothetical Republican primary featuring former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (who has since decided not to run), Mandel drew 16% support.
What’s more, there are signs that the Ohio electorate may favor the Democrats. Voters are turned off to their new Republican governor, John Kasich, and unions and progressive groups have gathered 1.3 million signatures to overturn Kasich’s union-busting legislation. All that could lead to a fired-up Democratic base heading into 2012 — and that’s before Obama sets foot in the important presidential election state.
But with Blackwell out of the Senate race and the cash pouring in, Mandel is looking good to win his party’s nomination. And with the impressive fundraising prowess he’s already shown coupled with his national conservative support, it seems likely he’d mount a serious challenge to Brown.
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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