GUBERNATORIAL RACE Fingerhut pulls out of primary

It was a month ago that the state senator declared his candidacy for governor.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland's top challenger in the Democratic gubernatorial primary has announced his withdrawal from the race.
In a letter on his Web site Monday, state Sen. Eric Fingerhut of Shaker Heights wrote that he is withdrawing from the race because he was unable to raise enough money to run a competitive campaign.
Fingerhut, D-25th, also wrote that he will not run for any public office this year and doesn't expect to be a candidate anytime in the foreseeable future.
In the letter, Fingerhut threw his support behind Strickland. Fingerhut had supported Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman for governor. Coleman withdrew from the race in November, and two months later, Fingerhut declared himself a gubernatorial candidate.
Brian Rothenberg, a spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party, said the party had placed no pressure on Fingerhut to get out of the gubernatorial race.
"This is a decision he's come to on his own," Rothenberg said. "Eric's always been a loyal Democrat and a party person."
Endorsements
Strickland, of Lisbon, D-6th, said last month that his numerous endorsements for governor should make Fingerhut and other Democrats think twice about getting into the race because of his strong support.
Besides numerous labor unions and Democratic politicians, Strickland has the endorsement of 32 of the state's 88 county Democratic parties.
Strickland said last month that the endorsements were a significant reason why Coleman quit.
If Fingerhut gets out of the race, the only Democrat in the gubernatorial primary besides Strickland is ex-state Rep. Bryan Flannery of Strongsville.
Strickland raised about $3 million for this race compared with about $300,000 for Fingerhut and about $100,000 for Flannery.
Thursday is the filing deadline to run in the May 2 primary.
Fingerhut cannot run for re-election this year to his Ohio Senate seat because of the state's term-limits law.
Fingerhut ran in 2004 for the U.S. Senate, losing all of the state's 88 counties in the general election to U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, a Republican.
Flannery was soundly defeated in 2002 in the Ohio secretary of state's race by J. Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican running this year for governor.
skolnick@vindy.com