Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) says he is “seriously considering” a run for Senate in 2016 and will make a decision by the end of the month.
{mosads}Strickland’s comments come after an article in The Vindicator of Youngstown, Ohio, last week citing sources saying that Strickland had decided to run. But at least publicly, Strickland still says that he has not made up his mind.
“I am really seriously considering it and I’m engaged in a job that I would need to leave obviously before I would say anything specifically but I am thinking about it very, very seriously and I’ll obviously have to make a firm decision certainly within the month of February,” Strickland said in an interview with the Portsmouth Daily Times.
“I’m going to Israel for a week,” he added. “I’ll be over there and will be coming back next Saturday [Feb. 7]. Once I get back I will force myself to make a decision one way or the other. I’ve got a few days to be away from things and think about it.”
Strickland, who was elected governor in 2006 and lost in the GOP wave of 2010, is currently president of the left-leaning Center for American Progress Action Fund.
Democrats will have a tough race in 2016 against Republican Sen. Rob Portman. Portman is a strong fundraiser, but Democrats hope to take him down in a presidential election year in the swing state.
Strickland is an ally of Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination.
If he runs, he would also face at least one primary challenger, Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, who announced his bid last month.
Sittenfeld, 30, is seen as a telegenic rising star in the party.