The 2010 election cycle for Republicans seeking statewide offices is critical and may well determine which political party controls Ohio for the next decade.

This was a central message of State Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, who spoke Tuesday evening to a crowd of about 125 at the Logan County Republican Fall Rally at Winner’s Harvest Barn.

Sen. Husted is challenging Democratic incumbent Jennifer Brunner to become Ohio’s Secretary of State in next November’s election.

Elected to the Ohio General Assembly in 2000 and 2005 and as speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives in 2007, Mr. Husted did not start off seeking a career in politics.

The former University of Dayton graduate and all-American football player wanted to pursue a college football coaching career. When the University of Toledo turned him down for a coaching position, he became a volunteer and later  manager for a congressional campaign.

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