We all know that incumbents tend to hold a fundraising advantage over their challengers, but when it comes to candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court, that advantage is staggering. According to Ohio Citizen Action, incumbent judges are outraising their challengers 26-1! Time to even out the playing field with public financing for Ohio judicial races?From a summary of the study:The fundraising imbalance was most pronounced in the contest between incumbent Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton ($244,281) who raised 31 times more money than her challenger Peter M. Sikora ($7,660). With the governor's office now in Democratic hands, and Republican dominance in the Ohio General Assembly threatened, GOP-dominated business interests are hoping to keep the all-Republican Supreme Court intact. Combined business interests contributed a total of $97,680 to incumbent Maureen O’Connor and $92,868 to Evelyn Lundberg Stratton. This can be sharply contrasted by the challengers. Joseph D. Russo raised $321 from business interests and Peter M. Sikora $4,300. The candidates for Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court raised $532,160 from November 5, 2007 to April 4, 2008. Citizen Action and Ohio Common Cause are pairing up to call for a full public financing program for the state's judicial races. Judicial races are the latest battle ground for big money -- spending is through the roof and the races are becoming increasingly partisan ad wars:The letter from Common Cause/Ohio and Ohio Citizen Action says that private contributions corrode public confidence in the judiciary."In a climate where political campaigns are dominated by big money and special interests, it is imperative that the judiciary maintains its independence and that it is perceived by all as fair, neutral, impartial and nonpartisan," the letter says.