Reply #19: Ohio-Fund raising was key to Hackett departure

[Algorem]

http://www.cleveland.com/politics/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/113999629868420.xml&coll=2

Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Elizabeth Auster
Plain Dealer Bureau

Hours after he stunned some of his top aides by abruptly dropping out of the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett said Tuesday that his decision came down to one overriding factor: Money.

In a telephone interview, Hackett said he realized early this week that he probably couldn't raise enough cash before the May 2 primary to pay for enough advertising to defeat his primary opponent, Democratic U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown of Avon.

Brown, a longtime congress man and former Ohio secretary of state, began the race with a $2 million war chest. Hackett, an outspoken political novice, became a national Democratic celebrity when he nearly won a special House election that was held last summer in a heavily Republican Cincinnati-area district.

He had nearly kept pace with Brown on fund raising since entering the Senate race last fall but still lagged far behind...