Awwww shucks she singled me out, she likes me, she truly likes me.
In Ohio my heart belongs to Brown, Sherrod is a damned good and honest man. He was our state history's youngest Secretary of State, he was the first ever to use driver registration to get voters registered, and politically, he votes his conscience and fights damned hard for those who elect him.
(He's actually from my hometown, and I have loved this man politically since the 80's. He is a name to watch.)
That said, I don't know much about Hackett. I know Hackett has some union support which is tearing the base apart in that area as he is not that pro-union, meanwhile Brown is extremely pro-union. Hackett, I believe sadly, is a wannabe GOP Neo-con in sheeps clothing, but that is just my impression.
It'll be very hard for Brown, who voted against the war, to beat a war hero in Ohio, but his past and his charisma should do it.
As for Dewine, he's been attacked by the GOP and I'm surprised they haven't pushed a candidate against him. He's a decent man, but he's attached very closely to Voinovich (his mentor in some ways) and if the Cincy and western parts of the state don't come out in big numbers he's gone.
Of course given the scandals of the last election, the true votes may not matter. In which case, if it is a close race and the GOP wins and there's some "discrepancy" again. But if that were to happen, I think Ohioans would really rebel and start screaming loud enough to be heard.
Ohio's a unique state and a pivotal state, but we're the best state in many ways we set the trends the rest of the nation follows.