By Dan Klepal
The Cincinnati Enquirer

In the Hamilton County Commission race to raise the most money, Republican Phil Heimlich has lapped his opponent.

Mr. Heimlich brought in more than $408,000 in the last campaign finance reporting period, while Democrat Jean Siebenaler brought in just over $190,000.

The difference has translated into a doubling of the all-important television ads Mr. Heimlich has purchased on the four local network affiliates. Mr. Heimlich's campaign has spent $203,000 on television, compared to Ms. Siebenaler's $94,000.

The two are running for the seat being vacated by Republican Tom Neyer, who is not seeking another term.

The vast majority of Mr. Heimlich's cash came from small contributions of $1,000 or less. But he did get a handful of large checks - including Carl Lindner's $15,000 contribution and seven others at $10,000 each.

Ms. Siebenaler's campaign also got some hefty checks: Cincinnati resident Thomas S. Crain gave $30,000, Frances and John Pepper combined for a total of $22,000 and former Cincinnati mayor-turned-talk-show-host Jerry Springer gave $5,000.

Gene Beaupre, a political science professor at Xavier University, said Ms. Siebenaler has raised enough money to be "a player" in the race.

"It's enough to give her the public image she needs on TV," Mr. Beaupre said. "The fact is, the first threshold to get over in politics, especially in a countywide race, is to have a respectable TV buy. I assume she'll have that."

The Siebenaler campaign is taking a few risks with her television buys. It has spent considerable money on late-night programming, such as Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Late Night with David Letterman.

Mr. Beaupre said that's risky because people who watch those programs don't typically vote. Most candidates stick with buying time during local news broadcasts or prime-time news magazines.

Tom Beridon, Ms. Siebenaler's campaign manager, said it's a risk worth taking. Ms. Siebenaler also has bought several prime-time spots. "We wanted to reach as many people as possible because Phil has more money," Mr. Beridon said. "Saturday Night Live is a definite risk, but the Democratic Party is having a massive get-out-the-vote effort, and we wanted to get out there to people who may not normally tune into the news and make them aware of the issues."

Mr. Heimlich, a four-time Cincinnati City Councilman, routinely raised in the neighborhood of $400,000 for his council races.

Email dklepal@enquirer.com