The Kucinich Congressional Challenge

After two failed presidential campaigns Dennis Kucinich is in for a serious fight for his Ohio congressional seat.

Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman has raised half a million dollars and landed high-profile endorsements from the mayor and the city's daily newspaper in the campaign heading into Tuesday's Democratic primary.

Kucinich, 61, a liberal with a political resume stretching over four decades, sensed early that the Cimperman challenge was real. He abandoned his presidential campaign on Jan. 25 in order to campaign for his congressional seat.

Cimperman alleges that Kucinich has been absent from congress and has missed too many votes while campaigning for the Presidency. He has been airing commercials to that effect for months.

With three other challengers on the ballot, Kucinich should benefit from a divided anti-incumbent vote.

Kucinich said he has a 95 percent voting record and helped save steel mill jobs in a city ranked among the nation's poorest and hardest-hit by lost manufacturing jobs and home foreclosures.