The Senate Democratic Campaign Committee today endorsed former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland in his race for the Senate next year, despite the presence of a second contender.
73-year-old former governor Ted Strickland plans to challenge Republican Senator Rob Portman. Strickland will likely face an opponent in the primary, P.G. Sittenfeld, a Cincinnati City Councilman. Sittenfeld says he represents the future of the party.
“You know I’m very proud to be a strong Democrat and to have strong progressive values and ideas. But I’m not constrained by the rigid ideology of yesterday. I think what people want are problem solvers,” Sittenfeld says.
For his part, Strickland says he’s running to work on behalf of Ohio’s working class who he says the current economy has left behind.
“Most Ohioans feel as though they’re not getting a fair deal out of this economy. They feel as if the cards are stacked against them and they know that they need a raise, wages need to go up, they’ve been stagnant for far too long and those are the things I want to emphasize in my campaign,” Strickland said.
Strickland has also picked up the endorsement of Ohio’s senior U.S. Senator, also a Democrat, Sherrod Brown.