Fisher finishes 1st in Ohio Dem Senate race, Socialist Party's La Botz Hail Mary's Brunner voters

COLUMBUS, Ohio - At the end of Tuesday, in the wee hours of Wednesday, the live unofficial election results at the Ohio Secretary of State's office showed Lee Fisher with 55.3 percent and 339,479 votes compared to the 44.7 percent and 274,616 votes going to Jennifer Brunner, an opponent who hoped to become the first woman U.S. Senator from Ohio, he congratulated in a statement for running a hard-fought and substantive campaign.

"She's a tough competitor, a good Democrat, and a tireless advocate for the state of Ohio who I hope will continue to serve us in the future," Fisher said in a statement from his home turf of Cleveland.

Republicans and Democrats still reign supreme as the unchallenged major political parties of the day. But this year, through a confluence of legal delays and legislative procrastination, candidates for various statewide and federal offices representing the Libertarian, Green, Constitution and Socialist parties are on the ballot.

One of those parties, The Socialist Party, has a candidate, Dan La Botz of Cincinnati, who saw the rancor that brewed between Fisher and Brunner over the months and threw a Hail Mary pass for support in November in an open letter to Brunner, who he asked to swing her voters his way based on La Botz's belief his position and those of Brunner were in close alignment, and that Fisher won't fight for them but he will.

"Your presence in the election forced Lee Fisher to take more progressive positions than he otherwise would have," La Botz wrote, adding that "Fisher’s victory will be a disappointment to your supporters, because they wanted a candidate who would stand up for the issues, as opposed to one who would merely mouth the words."

La Botz, who only managed to snag 369 votes statewide [as of this moment], seized the hour, agreeing with Brunner that Fisher "does not deserve our support," as LaBotz put it, adding, "He [Fisher] cannot be counted on to fight to end the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan...He can’t be trusted to fight for a real environmental program...His economic program will not save jobs...And he will not be a strong defender of gay and lesbian equality, including marriage rights."

La botz implored Brunner to not "choose loyalty to the Democratic Party over your principles and over your supporters." He asked her to "do the right thing and help to continue the fight for the values you believe in."

Clever and timely as it is, La Botz, who could have run for a local or statewide seat but who chose a federal office like senator so he could address international issues, should expect Brunner to not jump ship from the Democratic Party, a party she said she is true-blue for, to his minority, minority party.

When Fisher said he hopes Brunner "will continue to serve us in the future," that's political code for the party will line up another public office or appointment for the one-term secretary of state to occupy as a going away prize despite forcing the party and its loyalists and supporters to spend precious campaign funds on defeating her that otherwise would be channeled to defeating the GOP's well-funded candidate, Rob Portman, who had no primary challenger, in the fall.

"I share many of the positions that you espoused in your campaign. And unlike Fisher, I’ll fight for them, and encourage other Ohioans to stand up and fight for them," La Botz wrote. "Don’t leave those who believed in you with the choice of Portman or Fisher, for as you know, that’s not much of a choice at all."

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