Strickland to announce his bid for US Senate by the end of Feb.

Former Gov. Ted Strickland, who recently told numerous people he was running next year for the U.S. Senate, said today he’ll “make a decision by the end of the month.”

On a conference call with reporters to discuss reforms to federal subsidies that he said hurts Appalachian coal, Strickland, a Democrat, was asked about the Senate bid.

Besides the time for a public announcement, Strickland declined to discuss the run saying the call was to discuss coal and not his candidacy.

When asked again, Strickland sidestepped the question.

“I care about Ohio, I care about a lot of things, I care about coal,” he said.

Three sources close to him told The Vindicator on Jan. 30 that Strickland told political allies a day earlier that he would run in the 2016 primary and told high-level national donors of his decision that day. One source said at the time that Strickland would make an official announcement in mid- to late February.

Since the newspaper's report, national and state Republicans have sharply criticized Strickland.

It continued today with Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, the failed 2012 Republican candidate for the Senate, in an email sent by the campaign of U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, the Republican incumbent.

In the email, Mandel wrote: “Strickland left Ohio in financial shambles and he’s probably the last person we’d want to send to fix Washington.”

For the complete story, read Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com