Strickland to announce Ohio Senate run

Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) will challenge Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) for his seat, the Columbus Dispatch reported on Tuesday.

Former Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Leland told the newspaper that Strickland is “absolutely running.”

“I just wrote him a check for $5,400, so he better be running,” Leland said, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

A spokesman for Strickland declined to confirm the news, but said the former Ohio governor will make an announcement Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET about his potential run for the Senate in 2016.

Strickland lost the governorship to now-Gov. John Kasich (R) in the 2010 Republican wave. He has since stayed involved in politics and worked with the liberal Center for American Progress in Washington.

If Strickland does run for Senate, he’ll first have to dismiss of a Democratic challenger in a primary.

P.G. Sittenfeld, a 30-year-old Cincinnati city councilman, announced in January that he was launching a bid for Senate. Sittenfeld is a rising star in party and his candidacy has generated a lot of buzz among Democrats, who call him a “next-generation candidate.”

But Strickland is viewed by many Democrats in the state as the best potential challenger to Portman. His candidacy could set up a battle of Ohio political heavyweights between himself and Portman.

Portman has nearly $6 million in his campaign war chest and he begins his campaign with the backing of essentially every elected Republican in the state.

His list of endorsements includes Gov. John Kasich, Speaker John Boehner, who represents Ohio’s 8th District, and the entire Ohio Congressional delegation, including former Republican Study Committee head Jim Jordan, a well-regarded voice among conservatives in the House.

This post was updated at 5:31 p.m.