Who called who, when

Sen.-elect Sherrod Brown said he got a flurry of phone calls on election night from possible presidential contenders in 2008: former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barak Obama.

“This is an important state, people know that,” Brown said.

Btw, in case anyone is wondering, Brown said no one asked him if he'd consider being their vice presidential running mate.

“This will be the highest office I will seek … I hope to serve more than six years," Brown said, clearing up the issue.

He said Republican Sen. Mike DeWine, who he beat 56-44 percent, also called him.

"It was a relatively short call. An amicable call. Surely a difficult one for him to make and I appreciated the class he had in making it," Brown said.

He said he hadn't spoken yet to Republican Sen. George Voinovich but he planned to today. Voinovich said he also wanted to talk to Brown today.

Voinovich, a former Ohio governor who watched the election returns from his TV set at home in Cleveland, said he had spoken to Gov.-elect Ted Strickland earlier, but not on election night. He said he was trying to reach DeWine but hadn't talked to him yet.

Brown, meanwhile, said he also spoke to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., last night about his committee assignments. He wants the Senate Finance Committee, which has oversight of trade and Medicare and Medicaid, but said he knows that's a difficult committee for a freshman senator to land.