OH-Sen: Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld likely running

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

The OH democratic party is a joke party.

Not really.  It's going through a rough patch right now, but a joke party it is not.

[windjammer]

The OH democratic party is a joke party.

Not really.  It's going through a rough patch right now, but a joke party it is not.

What about Ed Fitzgerald???

[Maxwell]

The OH democratic party is a joke party.

Not really.  It's going through a rough patch right now, but a joke party it is not.

Maybe "joke party" is kind of exaggerating the situation, but their bench is fairly thin (though I think Sittenfield is very promising for a future race) for a major party in a swing state.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

The OH democratic party is a joke party.

Not really.  It's going through a rough patch right now, but a joke party it is not.

Maybe "joke party" is kind of exaggerating the situation, but their bench is fairly thin (though I think Sittenfield is very promising for a future race) for a major party in a swing state.

I mean 2014 was the biggest Republican wave in modern US history and Ohio was one of the ground zeros for it.  That sort of thing tends to hurt a bench, as does the fact that the Republican congressional and state legislature maps are some of the most effective gerrymanders of the decade.  While we have a thinner bench than one might expect, we have both some extremely promising rising stars (Stinziano, Ginther, Bishoff, Klein, Sittenfield, Pillich, arguably Whaley and Kamrass, etc) and some strong, established, big-names (Leland, Cordrey, Carney, Strickland, Ryan, Cranley,  Gentile, Schiavoni, Budish, etc).  Those are just off the top of my head.  We've taken a beating due to 2010 and 2014, but the ODP is a far cry from the Florida Democratic Party.

[Maxwell]

The OH democratic party is a joke party.

Not really.  It's going through a rough patch right now, but a joke party it is not.

Maybe "joke party" is kind of exaggerating the situation, but their bench is fairly thin (though I think Sittenfield is very promising for a future race) for a major party in a swing state.

I mean 2014 was the biggest Republican wave in modern US history and Ohio was one of the ground zeros for it.  That sort of thing tends to hurt a bench, as does the fact that the Republican congressional and state legislature maps are some of the most effective gerrymanders of the decade.  While we have a thinner bench than one might expect, we have both some extremely promising rising stars (Stinziano, Ginther, Bishoff, Klein, Sittenfield, Pillich, arguably Whaley and Kamrass, etc) and some strong, established, big-names (Leland, Cordrey, Carney, Strickland, Ryan, Cranley,  Gentile, Schiavoni, Budish, etc).  Those are just off the top of my head.  We've taken a beating due to 2010 and 2014, but the ODP is a far cry from the Florida Democratic Party.

Fair enough. And for the record, I know they aren't the Florida Democratic Party.

[RogueBeaver]

Strickland still considering. Ryan says he's completely preoccupied with his infant son ATM, but will make a decision within a month. Says while unafraid of a primary, having done that before, it would be preferable if one's avoided. Sounds like he's still out. Buckeyes, what do you think the odds are of Strickland running?

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Mike Coleman or Ted Strickland would be our preferable choice, we need to target this race, to clearly put the G O P on defense should NV be a very tight battle.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Strickland still considering. Ryan says he's completely preoccupied with his infant son ATM, but will make a decision within a month. Says while unafraid of a primary, having done that before, it would be preferable if one's avoided. Sounds like he's still out. Buckeyes, what do you think the odds are of Strickland running?

I'd say there's about a 33% chance of Strickland running.

[pbrower2a]

We need remember that Barack Obama was "only" an Illinois State Senator when he was elected to the US Senate. That was in a state similar in political size to Ohio.

[badgate]

We need remember that Barack Obama was "only" an Illinois State Senator when he was elected to the US Senate. That was in a state similar in political size to Ohio.

Obama's opponent imploded fabulously.

[Maxwell]

We need remember that Barack Obama was "only" an Illinois State Senator when he was elected to the US Senate. That was in a state similar in political size to Ohio.

Obama's opponent imploded fabulously.

Did you expect concrete analysis from PBROWER2A?

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

We need remember that Barack Obama was "only" an Illinois State Senator when he was elected to the US Senate. That was in a state similar in political size to Ohio.

Obama's opponent imploded fabulously.

Not in the primary.

[TJ in Oregon]

There is a world of difference between the state senate and city council.

[LeBron]

Strickland still considering. Ryan says he's completely preoccupied with his infant son ATM, but will make a decision within a month. Says while unafraid of a primary, having done that before, it would be preferable if one's avoided. Sounds like he's still out. Buckeyes, what do you think the odds are of Strickland running?

Low odds, maybe 20%. I'll give Strickland the benefit of the doubt that he still has the energy to do this kind of stuff, but there's multiple factors besides his age for why he won't.

Strickland if he ran and beat Portman, at best serves two terms, and it would be pointless in the long term for him to run. He seems to really like working as CAP President and it fits him well. Also, he initially did say he wasn't interested, but he started reconsidering after national Democrats kept on telling him to run. Now that the state party has a candidate, I think he'll say no and endorse Sittenfeld.

He is a good Bill Clinton-like fundraiser for Democrats in the state when need be though, and I hope he continues this kind of activism in the state party.

Ryan I give even lower odds at about 5%. It's just not happening.

In regards to Sutton and Coleman (Coleman seems to be the most unenthusiastic about running), Coleman would crash and burn and I would hope he realizes that. He's more focused on the DNC convention anyways which is a tossup at this point between Columbus and Philly. Sutton I'd prefer to see challenge Renacci again especially given he's scandal-plagued, but she likely won't run for anything.

[LeBron]

Now as for P.G. Sittenfeld being in the race - The party sees strong potential in Sittenfeld and he needs and deserves this statewide run. Chairman Pepper is ready to enthusiastically back his friend Sittenfeld in his candidacy, and a lot of that can be seen through Pepper's latest role in setting up a mainstreet fund initiative to win big again in Ohio's 2015 municipal races (like we did in 2013). The whole goal of that is to create a future, and larger bench, and begin running some of these names statewide who have been in local politics for awhile now like P.G.

It would be tough for P.G. to win barring a wave if he doesn't get the proper resources, but the sooner he gets out there, the better. Sure the City Council isn't that good of a place to jump from, though this is the same guy that got more votes in 2013 than Mayor Cranley got in his race against Qualls, and raised close to 1/2 a million in a City Council race alone. Who knows how much he can raise in his U.S. Senate bid.

Point is though, don't consider just his current office when you think of whether P.G.'s a good or bad candidate for 2016.

As he starts to build experience, name ID and a large network, he will get Ohio donations as there's more assurance he becomes the actual nominee, and the ODP will certainly help him out with that. And luckily, Ohio is considered part of the national party's map back to a majority, so he will get a good amount of DSCC support needed to run an effective campaign to fight the onslaught that Portman will throw at him.

There is also the fact that Ohio gets affected by national climates. 2010/2014 GOP waves hurt the state party immensely while 2008/2012 we got our candidates elected, and quite frankly, P.G. is someone who could really help in turning out the base in Ohio. He works great with social media and on the road with crowds, and holds some very strong principles.

For the record, I will be a part of his early campaign, but I'm not donating anything until I know that he's staying in for sure (considering the rumors that he might drop out if a higher-profile Democrat jumps in).

[Brewer]

He's one of the most energetic and telegenic public officials I've ever seen, honestly. I certainly hope he finds a greater political future -- not confident he'll come out on top in a Senate race this soon but I'd cast a very supportive vote for him if I lived in Ohio.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

While I like Sittenfield a lot and think he could have a bright future, I worry that he's setting himself up for something similar to what happened to another once promising up-and-comer from Hamilton County.  In 2010 Pepper was simply running for Auditor in the wrong year (much like Carney and Pillich in 2014).  A defeat can take some of the shine off a rising star and it is important to make sure we run them in races/years that they can win.  Someone like Mandel or Mary Taylor would be one thing, but Portman is more like DeWine in that he won't lose unless you get both the right A-list candidate and a decent year.  Portman won't shoot himself in the foot and will be flooded with more money than he knows what to do with. 

@ Lebron:  I think 20% is too low for Strickland.  By all accounts, the man has more energy and fire-in-the-belly than he did when he was elected Governor in 2006.  Plus, who cares if he'll only serve like two terms if it's the only way to sink Portman (I don't think Ryan or Cordrey will run, Strickland probably won't, but I'd only be mildly surprised if he does).  Sutton would lose to Renacci, she has literally zero cross-over appeal outside of the Barberton/Norton area, she should run for whatever State Senate seat includes that area (I think it's Roegner, who Sutton could certainly beat in that area).

Sittenfield is from Cincinnatti, so it's no surprise the progressive establishment there is supporting him or that he is on good terms with Pepper.  However, he won't help turn out the base b/c he has zero name-recognition outside of Hamilton County and probably won't be able raise enough money to change that in a meaningful way.  Btw, not only is Portman not scared of Sittenfield, I doubt he even thinks about him.  What does he gain by acknowledging Sittenfield and thus giving his candidacy more legitimacy?

[Mister Mets]

In completely unrelated news, Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan has announced that he's now Pro-Choice.

http://politicalwire.com/2015/01/28/lawmaker-changes-mind-abortion/

[Gass3268]

In completely unrelated news, Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan has announced that he's now Pro-Choice.

http://politicalwire.com/2015/01/28/lawmaker-changes-mind-abortion/

FF!

[TJ in Oregon]

In completely unrelated news, Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan has announced that he's now Pro-Choice.

http://politicalwire.com/2015/01/28/lawmaker-changes-mind-abortion/

About as much of a surprise as when Obama came out in favor of gay marriage. Anyone paying attention already knew he held that view. He really changed his mind about 5 years ago.

This could mean he's running for Senate, which would be nice in that he'd probably be replaced and his district can do much better. I suppose he could possibly beat Portman and then I'd eat my words. But I still think Portman can take him.

[Mister Mets]

In completely unrelated news, Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan has announced that he's now Pro-Choice.

http://politicalwire.com/2015/01/28/lawmaker-changes-mind-abortion/

FF!

Friendly fire?

[IceSpear]

In completely unrelated news, Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan has announced that he's now Pro-Choice.

http://politicalwire.com/2015/01/28/lawmaker-changes-mind-abortion/

About as much of a surprise as when Obama came out in favor of gay marriage. Anyone paying attention already knew he held that view. He really changed his mind about 5 years ago.

This could mean he's running for Senate, which would be nice in that he'd probably be replaced and his district can do much better. I suppose he could possibly beat Portman and then I'd eat my words. But I still think Portman can take him.

What do you mean by that? The district is D+12.

[henster]

It looks like Ryan is running considering the pro choice announcement.

[TJ in Oregon]

In completely unrelated news, Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan has announced that he's now Pro-Choice.

http://politicalwire.com/2015/01/28/lawmaker-changes-mind-abortion/

About as much of a surprise as when Obama came out in favor of gay marriage. Anyone paying attention already knew he held that view. He really changed his mind about 5 years ago.

This could mean he's running for Senate, which would be nice in that he'd probably be replaced and his district can do much better. I suppose he could possibly beat Portman and then I'd eat my words. But I still think Portman can take him.

What do you mean by that? The district is D+12.

His district is full of unemployed steel workers who have the potential to elect a populist type of Dem, or at the very worst the Youngstown equivalent of Marcy Kaptur. Ryan was more or less a new age hippy. It will undoubtedly elect a Den, it's a question of who.

[Miles]

Big, if true:

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