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WASHINGTON Democrats are turning to some proven election losers as they aim to retake control of the Senate in 2016.

In Ohio, Ted Strickland, who lost his bid for a second term as governor to former Rep. John Kasich in 2010, is running against Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

In Pennsylvania, former Rep. Joe Sestak wants another shot at Pat Toomey, the onetime Republican congressman who defeated him five years ago.

In Wisconsin, former Sen. Russ Feingold is considered the likeliest Democratic candidate to take on GOP Sen. Ron Johnson, in what would be another 2010 rematch.

Democrats do not have a candidate yet in North Carolina, Alaska or Georgia. But mentioned most often are the partys losing Senate nominees from 2014: Michelle Nunn in Georgia and former Sens. Kay Hagan in North Carolina and Mark Begich in Alaska.

Democratic campaign officials note that in Illinois, California, Missouri, Florida and elsewhere, they are putting up fresh candidates, and they say that Strickland, in particular, is a formidable politician who lost narrowly in a difficult year for Democrats. And although Strickland, Feingold and Sestak came up short in their most recent races, all have won more campaigns than they lost.

Losing in 2010 or 2014, for that matter, I dont think that makes you a bad candidate Democrats lost everywhere in those years and a guy like Ted Strickland actually ran a much more competitive race than Democrats did all over the country, said Justin Barasky, communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Those were nonpresidential election years, when Democratic President Barack Obama was not on the ballot.

Still, even some Democrats acknowledge that turning to candidates who last ran and lost reflects a spotty bench for a party struggling to win statewide races in contested states. It also shows the difficulty, for either party, of recruiting a candidate willing to take on a solid incumbent such as Portman or Toomey.

Its evidence, too, of the challenge for Democrats struggling to reclaim the Senate, even in a presidential election year where a younger, more diverse electorate will help their party.

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Democrats turn to proven losers in effort to retake Senate