P.G. Sittenfeld fundraising for U.S. Senate bid

Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld started accepting donations Monday to finance a bid for U.S. Senate, two people with firsthand knowledge of the plan told The Enquirer.

The move sets up Sittenfeld, an Over-the-Rhine Democrat, for a possible showdown with one or more of the senior Ohio Democrats who are considering a bid for office. If he were to emerge successful, the 30-year-old city councilman would take on Sen. Rob Portman, a Terrace Park Republican, in November 2016.

Sittenfeld has yet to launch his campaign publicly, so people with firsthand knowledge spoke to The Enquirer on condition of anonymity. When he makes it official, Sittenfeld will likely be the first Democrat to launch a run for Senate, but he may not be the last. Former Gov. Ted Strickland, former northeast Ohio Congresswoman Betty Sutton and northeast Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan are also considering bids and enjoy higher profiles statewide than Sittenfeld.

It's unclear whether the city councilman will stay in the race if one of them jumps in.

Still, Sittenfeld has worked hard over the past year to build his profile. He's crisscrossed the state at a rate comparable to some candidates for statewide office; he launched a Democratic tour to oppose cuts in the money the state shares with local governments; and he won a national award last month for progressives who have ideas for growing the economy.

As a Senate candidate, Sittenfeld must register with the Federal Election Commission within 15 days of raising or spending $5,000. As The Enquirer reported in November, he's already locked up domain names such as sittenfeldforsenate.com and pgforsenate.com.

For now, Sittenfeld is declining to confirm that he's raising money.

"We'll be making an announcement in the days ahead," he said in an email.

As a City Council candidate, Sittenfeld consistently led his fellow council candidates in fundraising in both of his bids for office, and he got more votes in 2013 than any other candidate for city office.

But he'll face hurdles in making the case to Ohioans of why a city councilman is ready to represent the whole state.

"There are other names out there who might be thinking about it who, frankly, might be stronger candidates," said Tim Burke, chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, who said Sittenfeld hasn't told him he's officially running.

If other candidates don't run, "P.G. has the energy, he's built the connections, he's demonstrated the ability to raise money," Burke said. "He's not intimidated by the Republican candidate. ... He would be a very serious candidate."

Running for Senate from a city council "is a bigger leap, there's no doubt about that" than running for Senate after being a governor or congress member, said David Pepper, the Anderson Township politician who now chairs the Ohio Democratic Party. "But I also think it's certainly possible. There are people in Youngstown and Toledo who know him who wouldn't have known me when I was a City Council member."

Pepper, who said Sittenfeld hasn't told him that he's officially in the race, said Democrats will benefit from considering a young, next-generation politician for higher office.

Ultimately, he said, any of the possible candidates would mount a formidable challenge to Portman. The Terrace Park senator is likely to have to spend some of his campaign money on a primary challenge after alienating some conservatives with his support for same-sex marriage.

The Democratic candidate will also get a boost from the 2016 presidential contest, since Ohio's Democratic voters turn out in higher numbers during presidential elections.

"If the candidate and the party do our job right, this will become a tier one race that the whole country will be watching," Pepper said. "This could be a swing race in who controls the Senate."