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Washington Ohio is always big in presidential races. Its the ultimate bellwether state. Now add Ohio to the column called marquee Senate races of 2016.

Ted Strickland, the states Democratic former governor, announced Wednesday that hes running against Republican Sen. Rob Portman, a big score for the party out of power on Capitol Hill. Democrats need a net gain of five seats to retake control of the Senate, in a cycle whose map favors the Democrats.

Republicans are defending 24 seats in 2016, versus only 10 for the Democrats. Of those, 10 Republican-held seats are competitive, while two Democrat-held seats are, according to the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report.

Democrats are also better at turning out their base minorities, single women, and young voters in presidential election years.

Mr. Strickland is a Democratic elder statesman, with a strong statewide profile. He lost reelection to current Gov. John Kasich (R) in 2010, a tough year for Democrats, by two percentage points. Senator Portman, respected in Washington as a leader of the center-right, isnt so popular at home. Only 37 percent of Ohioans gave him positive job marks in a recent Quinnipiac poll.

Strickland is the second Democrat to enter the race to take on Portman, a sign of the incumbents vulnerability. Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld announced in January and has raised $500,000 so far, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Though its only February 2015, Democrats are moving fast to fill slots in the 2016 Senate cycle. Heres a rundown:

California. California Attorney General Kamala Harris (D) declared for the Senate within days of Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxers announcement Jan. 8 that shes not running for reelection. On Tuesday, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced he wont run, leaving Ms. Harris as the early front-runner to replace Senator Boxer in solid-blue California.

A Field Poll of likely California voters released Feb. 18 shows former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice coming out on top, three percentage points ahead of Harris, but Ms. Rice says she wont run.

New Hampshire. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) is seen as vulnerable in this presidential tossup state, and Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) would be her partys top get if she agrees to run. An NBC News/Marist poll released Feb. 17 shows Governor Hassan beating Senator Ayotte 48 percent to 44 percent.

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