Hackett vs. Brown in the $$ race

**UPDATED with DeWine fundraising numbers**

Rep. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from northern Ohio, and Indian Hill lawyer and Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett, also a Democrat, are battling for their party's nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Mike DeWine in November.

Today, the campaigns released reports showing how much cash they've raised:

Brown: $496,882 raised and $2.37 million in the bank

Hackett: $465,779 raised and $229,784 in the bank

DeWine: $1 million raised and $4.3 million in the bank

Granted, there are a ton of other factors that will play into this race, but looking at the financials shows that Hackett is way behind Brown in a contest that will be decided only a few months away on May 2.

Of course, with Hackett getting into the race only last October against a seven-term congressman, it's not surprising that Hackett is this far behind. What is surprising is that the two candidates each raised about the same amount during the last three months of 2005, keeping in mind that Hackett was only a candidate for two of those months. And, to no surprise, that's exactly how his campaign is spinning it:

"Hackett's tremendous showing ensures a competitive primary campaign against Sherrod Brown, an entrenched career politician who is expected to announce raising slightly more than Hackett despite serving in public office for more than 30 years," says a news release from the Hackett campaign, which noted that Hackett's cash came from 8,675 people contributing an average of $51.00 each.

Brown's campaign said this about their numbers:

"We're extremely confident about our numbers," said Ben Wikler, Brown's campaign press secretary. "The fact that 79% of our donors are individuals from Ohio speaks to the overwhelming in-state support for Sherrod."

Earlier this month, Brown was endorsed by the Ohio Communications Workers of America, the Ohio Building Trades Council, and the Ohio Federation of Teachers.

"Sherrod's focus has been on talking with Ohioans about the issues that affect their everyday lives, and his plans to bring about change in Ohio," Wikler said. "Today's fundraising numbers show that Sherrod's message resonates with working men and women throughout the state."

Meanwhile, DeWine has raised twice as much as Hackett and Brown. He held a fundraiser in Washington last week with Vice President Dick Cheney and has a fundraiser coming up next month with President Bush. So who ever wins the Democratic primary will need to have enough money left over to mount a formidable challenge to DeWine, who has been collecting quite a nest egg.