Ohio: Hackett's In; Brown Mulls

It was no coincidence that as news that Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) was reconsidering his previous pass to take on Sen. Mike DeWine (R) was breaking on this blog and elsewhere yesterday, Paul Hackett (D) kicked off his own race for the Ohio Senate seat.

Hackett spent the day huddled in meetings here in Washington with various party leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).  One Capitol Hill source familiar with the meeting between Hackett and Reid said there was "lots of energy." 

"Hackett is a no-nonsense, straight-talker," the source said. "Reid likes that." The source also noted that the prospect of a Brown candidacy did not come up.

Hackett is expected to formally announce his campaign on Oct. 24 in Cincinnati. Brown is expected to make a decision on a candidacy within the next month.

Hackett made a strong run for Ohio's 2nd District House seat in a special election earlier this year, losing the traditionally GOP seat to Jean Schmidt by only a few percentage points.