Journal-News.com

Columbus, Ohio — State Sen. Jon Husted on Thursday, April 2, said he will run for Ohio secretary of state in 2010, in what is likely to be one of the year's most hotly contested statewide races.

Husted, 41, a Republican from Kettering, said he will be running to replace Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat who plans to run for U.S. Senate next year.

Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown has already announced her candidacy on the Democratic side.

Ohioans will also choose their governor, state auditor, treasurer, attorney general and one of their U.S. senators in 2010. Republicans will attempt to bounce back from disappointing elections in 2006 and 2008, while Democrats try to build on their newfound statewide success.

Republicans have high hopes for Husted, whose run was made easier by Brunner's Senate plans.

Husted said he will push to take away much of the secretary of state's authority to run elections, even as he runs for the office himself. The former Ohio House speaker said he is looking at models in other states where decisions about elections are made in a bipartisan process. In Ohio, the elections chief is a partisan official whose decisions often are criticized by the opposing party.