Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) campaign is fundraising off an anonymous conservative blogger’s failed attempt to sandbag his wife, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist and author Connie Schultz.
The freshman senator is fending off a challenge from Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel, who he leads by a 46-41 point margin, according to the TPM PollTracker Average. The gap has recently narrowed.
In an email to supporters titled “Our family scandal” from the Brown campaign, Schultz’s 25-year-old daughter, Caitlin Schultz Gard, recounted the tale of the blogger’s recent email to her mother, who formerly wrote for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, inquiring why she appeared to be hugging the senator in a photo, apparently for a story on reporters getting too close to the politicians they cover.
Connie Schultz’s response to the blogger, who she preferred not to name when contacted by TPM: “I am surprised you did not find a photo of me kissing U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown so hard he passes out from lack of oxygen. He’s really cute. He’s also my husband. You know that, right?”
In the fundraising email, Caitlin Schultz Gard wrote:
Go, Mom. Fierce, funny, and direct is the only way to keep these conservative bloggers in their place.Unfortunately, most of the attacks coming Sherrod’s way in this campaign are much less true, and much less funny.
Sherrod knows he’ll always have us by his side when things get tough. But I know how much he leans on all of you as well. So I want to say thanks for helping us get his back.
By the way, Mom never heard back from that conservative blogger. But we’d always love to hear from you — especially if you can help the campaign fight back against all these outrageous attacks.
The last line of the email included a link at which to donate to Brown’s campaign.
Sahil Kapur
Sahil Kapur is a congressional reporter for TPM. He previously covered politics and public policy for numerous publications including The Guardian and The Huffington Post. He can be reached at sahil [at] talkingpointsmemo.com.
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