Did P.G. Sittenfeld renege by staying in Senate race?

• Dems say when they gave Strickland their support%2C they expected same from Sittenfeld
• Sittenfeld cites support of donors and 'everyday Ohioans' as reasons to stay in race
• Flip-flop%3F Nope%2C says Democratic ally. And neither was the streetcar
• Ohio Democratic Party seeks neutrality%2C but underscores Sittenfeld's weaknesses

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P.G. Sittenfeld told Democrats he'd abandon his U.S. Senate campaign if former Gov. Ted Strickland entered the race.

Then, one week after Strickland launched his campaign, the 30-year-old Cincinnati councilman told supporters he was "all in." He phoned Democratic officials and, according to those officials, told them his thinking evolved. Circumstances had changed. A primary against Strickland would be tough – he'd always known that. But he felt he had a shot, against the 73-year-old former governor and, eventually, incumbent GOP Sen. Rob Portman.

Some of Strickland's supporters – and they are many, including practically every Ohio Democrat The Enquirer called – are calling out Sittenfeld for failing to make good on his word.

But it's unfair, and unwise, for Sittenfeld to drop out now, said Tim Burke, chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party.

"A variety of times we have talked about the impact of Ted Strickland entering this race," Burke said. "I do think there are changed circumstances. He was much more successful, much more quickly than even he expected to be, and it has encouraged him to play this out. I don't find the change in circumstances to be particularly unusual in a political context like this."

'He was going to get out'

Sittenfeld says he's received robust support from the first day of his campaign, which launched in January. But he has lost Democratic officials in droves since Strickland entered the race last week. That's mostly because those Democrats were under the impression Sittenfeld too would get behind Strickland and drop out of the running, said Mark Owens, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party.

When Sittenfeld first asked for Owens' support, Strickland was a couple of months away from a decision of whether to run.

Sittenfeld "definitely was very clear that he was going to jump in and that he would not run if Ted ran," Owens said. It all sounded fine to Owens.

Then, last month, Owens got a call from Strickland. The former governor planned to run for Senate and wanted Owens' support. Would the county chair join his team? Of course, Owens said. He thought he'd hear soon that Sittenfeld had endorsed the former governor, too.

Instead, he got another call from the Cincinnati councilman.

"He said his thinking has changed and that he's going to stay in," Owens said of Sittenfeld. "You told me you weren't going to run in this scenario. If you're really not going to get out, then don't tell me you are."

Chris Redfern, former chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party and a longtime Strickland supporter, had a similar early conversation with Sittenfeld.

"He indicated he was going to get out" if Strickland entered the race, Redfern said. "Now, he didn't say the day of, but he did say he was going to get out. I haven't spoken to him since."

Evolving, 'flip-flopping' & the streetcar

What changed for the city councilman? Maybe it's that Sittenfeld reportedly raised an impressive $500,000-plus in the month and a half before Strickland entered the race. Maybe it's interactions he had with national donors such as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

In a statement to The Enquirer, Sittenfeld said he was running at the encouragement of "grasstops and grassroots supporters."

"I had many conversations with folks leading into this race – but what's most compelling are the ones I've had since launching this campaign," he said. "It's clear from everything I've heard over the past two months that everyday Ohioans want and are energized to have a new approach in Washington."

Democrats who thought Sittenfeld was promising to exit the race must have misinterpreted him, said Cincinnati Council Member Chris Seelbach.

"I definitely think P.G. and many people did not think Ted would enter the race," he said. "When we talked about the race, it was, 'We don't think he's going to enter. If he does, that changes things.' I think P.G. acknowledged it would make the race more difficult. But he never said, 'I wouldn't run.' "

And if someone took "that changes things" to mean Sittenfeld planned to drop out?

"Maybe for someone who doesn't know him well. But that's not how I took it," Seelbach said. "I know P.G. He is incredibly motivated."

Perhaps Sittenfeld thought about dropping out, Seelbach said. But politicians should always be learning and, if necessary, allowing their thinking to evolve, he said. That's how Seelbach speaks of Sittenfeld's switch in position in 2013 on supporting the Cincinnati streetcar.

"What do you call a politician who learns? A flip-flopper," Seelbach said. "I'm just not willing to be part of flip-flopping conversations."

Who is P.G. Sittenfeld?

Even with financial strength and energetic supporters, Sittenfeld lacks Strickland's statewide name recognition, said Nan Whaley, Democratic mayor of Dayton. She said Sittenfeld originally told her he'd drop out if Strickland ran.

"I said, 'That's really smart, because Ted and Sherrod (Brown, U.S. senator,) are the two really good statewide names that we have,' " said Whaley, who has called on Sittenfeld to exit the race. "It would be different if P.G. were running against another regional name, like a Toledo city councilman or a Youngstown state rep, where neither one of them have large name recognition across the state."

Two moves by the Ohio Democratic Party Thursday underscored how far Sittenfeld lags Strickland in name recognition and prominence.

First, the party commissioned an automated telephone poll from North Carolina's Public Policy Polling and authorized its release Thursday. Since it's a Democratic poll, we'll disregard Portman's results. Strickland received 45 percent of callers' support in a one-on-one matchup with Portman. Sittenfeld received 31 percent.

Then, the state party sent out a fundraising email, launching the Portman Accountability Fund to "help win back the Senate" for Democrats. The email avoided endorsing a candidate, but decried a GOP attack video of Strickland. No mention of Sittenfeld.

To be fair, Republicans have focused their attacks on Strickland, clearly viewing him as the more credible threat to Portman and perhaps wanting to avoid boosting Sittenfeld's name recognition.

"Sen. Portman and the Ohio Republican Party came out of the box attacking Democratic candidates because he cannot run on his record and is currently weak in the polls, and we are responding accordingly," said Greg Beswick, who is directing the state party's transition under new Chairman David Pepper.

Sittenfeld – or Strickland, for that matter – could still change his mind and drop out of the race. The candidates have nine months until they must file to appear on the primary ballot.

An important checkpoint comes in just a month. An April 15 deadline to disclose fundraising for the first three months of 2015 will compare the two Democrats' campaigns head-to-head for the first time.

Few doubt Strickland's ability to tap state and nation donor networks to load up on cash.

And he's racking up endorsements from most elected Democrats. Friday he added three of the Ohio's four Democratic U.S. representatives. Only Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, abstained. ("She's inclined to give [former Congresswoman] Betty Sutton and others time to make a decision," said Steve Fought, a former spokeswoman for Kaptur. "It might be a little early.")

Sittenfeld's public endorsements from elected officials are limited to his fellow Democratic city council members.

Still, "if this kid can raise the amount of money that it seems like he can raise, why not?" said Jerry Austin, a longtime political strategist who has advised Sittenfeld. "Just suppose the kid wins? (Republicans') worst nightmare is P.G. Sittenfeld."

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