"WASHINGTON -- When it comes to energy issues, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Josh Mandel agree on two things -- and maybe only two things: First, energy issues and economic issues are inextricably linked. And second, they will probably play an outsized role in Ohio's U.S. Senate race."

"'Energy is about jobs to me,' said Brown, using almost the exact same words as Mandel to describe what's at stake when it comes to Washington policies and Ohio's energy sector.

Energy issues will be high-profile nationally as the 2012 elections heat up, helping to shape the presidential contest and other races. 'Both sides will use energy to play to potential swing voters in presidential swing states,' said Chris Foreman, a professor of public policy at the University of Maryland.

But in Ohio -- with its natural gas boom, its teetering coal industry, and its burgeoning clean-energy sector -- energy policy questions could play an even more influential role in framing the debate, Foreman said."

Deirdre Shesgreen reports for the Cincinnati Enquirer July 8, 2012. [2]