Democratic strategist Jerry Austin, who is advising Cincinnati City Councilman P.J. Sittenfeld in his U.S. Senate candidacy this year, says the party this time shouldn’t be so quick to back 73-year-old former Gov. Ted Strickland in the race against Republican Sen. Rob Portman.
“The (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) in their wisdom picks someone and tries to muscle everyone out of the race,” he said. “That’s what they’re doing now to Sittenfeld.”
Austin said the party needs to rebuild its bench by grooming candidates like the 30-year-old Sittenfeld.
“It seems to me that the older generation should be nurturing the young instead of trying to stifle them,” he said.
John Green, a political scientist at the University of Akron, sees several parallels in the Hackett and Sittenfeld candidacies, including an ability to raise money.
Hackett, however, was better known. An Iraq war veteran who became a critical voice in opposition to the war, he ran a surprisingly strong race against Rep. Jean Schmidt in the 2005 congressional special election. The tightness of the race – as well as Hackett’s tough talk on Iraq – drew national attention and made him a hero among Democratic bloggers.
Sittenfeld, meanwhile, has served on Cincinnati City Council since 2011. During his 2013 re-election, he received the highest number of votes among all city council candidates running. But he is relatively unknown outside of Cincinnati. Since Strickland declared, the Portman campaign has mostly focused on the former governor in its opposition attacks.
In both 2006 and this year, establishment Democrats quickly rallied around the elected official. Hackett withdrew after reporting that he’d felt pressure to drop out from party leaders after Brown opted in.
“I made this decision reluctantly, only after repeated requests by party leaders, as well as behind the scenes machinations, that were intended to hurt my campaign,” Hackett, who was 43 when he ran, said at the time.
Similarly, this year, Strickland quickly drew a round of endorsements from Democrat elected officials as well as the DSCC. Sittenfeld, however, has yet to back out.
Former Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Jim Ruvolo praises Sittenfeld as a disciplined candidate who rarely makes a rhetorical misstep. He also raised $500,000 in the first few weeks of his bid.
Ruvolo wonders if the early push for Sittenfeld to bow out might have a chilling effect. Why, he wonders, are the Democrats picking sides so soon?
“There’s no need for the doors to be shut this early in the race,” he said. “There’s no need for it. To me, that sends the wrong signal to the younger office holders in the Democratic party.”
For his part, Strickland has not attacked Sittenfeld, and Sittenfeld said he has had several gracious conversations with the former governor. Ruvolo said the big test may be March 31, when the first campaign finance reports are due. At that point, the public will learn if the financial support is shifting to Strickland.
Larry Sabato, a political scientist from the University of Virginia, said Sittenfeld stands to gain even if he loses a primary or drops out because of the experience and recognition he gains traveling the state.
“He has nothing to lose,” Sabato said. “He has his whole career ahead of him.”
But Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, who supports Strickland, says Sittenfeld risks burning bridges by staying in the race too long.
She uses as an example former state Rep. Bryan Flannery, who challenged Strickland in the gubernatorial primary in 2006, got beat badly and disappeared from serious political discussion.
And Democrats’ worst fear is a bloody primary that drains money from the coffers, provides material for the opposition and dampens their chances of unseating Portman.
Some are even warning not to count Sittenfeld out, particularly as Republicans begin to dust off their anti-Strickland campaign slogans from 2010.
Paul Beck, an Ohio State University political science professor, said Sittenfeld is less vulnerable to attacks on his record than Strickland, who served 12 years in Congress and four in the governor’s office.
Also, said Beck, in an era when many are sick of Washington insiders, Sittenfeld is about as much of an outsider as you can be.
But Whaley said a primary to oppose Portman doesn’t help either candidate. And she said Sittenfeld told Democratic leaders he would get out of the race if Strickland got in.
“He’s not allowing us to talk about Rob Portman,” she said. “I’m concerned about that.”
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