Kucinich, Sweeney said, was prepared to tell his supporters that he was about to face the “fight of all fights.”

Central to Kucinich’s strategy, insiders said, is tapping into the nationwide liberal donor base he cultivated during his long-shot 2004 and 2008 presidential bids. As redistricting unfolds over the next year, he is expected to appeal to potential contributors across the country as he girds for what could be a costly primary election. Kucinich’s first e-mail appeal came just three days before the fourth-quarter fundraising period closed.

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“What Dennis has is a strong base, and he’s trying to let his base know what’s going on. He’s going to activate it when it needs to be activated,” said state Rep. Mike Foley, a Kucinich ally. “He’s got people who are ready to go to the mat for him.”

Who Kucinich’s likely opponent would be, should his district be redrawn or eliminated, remains an open question. Much speculation has centered on the prospect of a Kucinich matchup against Sutton, a third-term Democrat who occupies a district to the south of Kucinich’s. But Kucinich could also find himself paired against Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge, whose seat lies east of his.

Several senior Democratic operatives in the state, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Fudge appeared to be the easier opponent for Kucinich. Fudge has struggled with fundraising since being elected to the House in 2008, raising less than $1 million. She also occupies territory considerably less conservative than Sutton’s.

Still, a race against either woman carries significant risk for Kucinich. Fudge, the only African-American in the Ohio delegation, would most likely win a big share of the black vote. Sutton, who last cycle survived a difficult reelection battle, has long counted on the support of EMILY’s List, a group that supports Democratic female candidates, which poured more than $500,000 into campaign ads supporting her during the 2010 campaign.

Kucinich would not discuss a potential primary fight but said that any campaign he runs would not focus on his opponent.

“I don’t think of it as running against another member,” he said.

In a statement to POLITICO, Sutton said: “Redistricting will play itself out, but I am focused on helping people in Northeast Ohio get back to work, helping small businesses get the capital they need to grow and working to strengthen American manufacturing and the jobs that go with it.”

Fudge’s office would not comment for this story.

For party officials, the looming prospect of a Democratic primary has become a cause for concern, potentially forcing labor groups and local party officials to take sides in a fight between friends. Fresh in their memory is the bitter 2010 Senate primary battle that divided party activists between Lee Fisher and Jennifer Brunner, then lieutenant governor and secretary of state, respectively.

Harriet Applegate, executive secretary of the North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor, said organized labor, which has heavily supported Kucinich and Sutton, would very likely resist becoming involved in a primary on behalf of either candidate.

“It’s a worry, because Sutton and Kucinich are both progressive Democrats who have similar constituencies,” said Applegate. “There’s a very deep and an abiding connection people feel with Dennis, but there’s also real understanding that Sutton has been a supporter.”