With Republicans preparing to use Dann as a political pinata to spew the taint of scandal on all Democrats in the November presidential election and beyond, party leaders moved swiftly to ostracize him. They threatened to impeach him if he doesn't resign, and the Ohio Democratic Party central committee is poised on Saturday to withdraw its endorsement of Dann and preclude him from all party activities and events.

"I think it's important for Democrats to send a very clear message that we will clean our own house," Strickland said.

State party Chairman Chris Redfern said that multiple pending investigations of Dann likely will yield more details, making it impossible for him to survive in office and probable that his presence would be damaging to Democrats' political prospects.

"There will be facts, I think we've come to realize, that we don't even know yet that will be so damning in their totality that we had no other choice" but to seek Dann's ouster, Redfern said.

Although Dann said he has no plan to resign, the fervor with which Democrats are prepared to pursue impeachment gives him almost nowhere to go but home to Youngstown.

"Resignation is the only option left," said Steve Wilson, president of Wilson Group Communications, a Columbus crisis-management firm. "He takes down so much more than himself if he stays there. The Democratic Party has a lot at stake here."

Chris Lehane, a Democratic consultant and expert in crisis communication who was an adviser to President Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, said Dann's political fate likely was sealed when his fellow Democrats turned against him.

"You ultimately have to have your political friends standing with you and supporting you," he said. "If they throw you under the proverbial bus, especially if it's warranted, it becomes a really untenable situation."

Politicians typically survive such scandals only if they are very popular and the public views the scandal as separate from the core function of their jobs, Lehane said.

Dann will have problems because it's hard to separate the scandal from his role as the state's top law-enforcement officer, Lehane said.

Despite Dann's vow to stay put, both parties are planning for his quick departure. If Dann were to resign on or before Sept. 24, Strickland would name someone to replace him until a special election on Nov. 4 installed a person to serve the rest of Dann's term, through 2010.

One scenario discussed by strategists in both parties has Strickland appointing his chief counsel, Kent Marcus, as interim attorney general to serve until the election. Democrats then would endorse state Treasurer Richard Cordray. If Cordray were to lose the attorney general race, he'd still be treasurer. If he were to win, Strickland would appoint a new treasurer.

Cordray declined yesterday to discuss whether he would be interested in the job, noting that there is no vacancy at this point.

Other Democrats mentioned as possible Dann successors include Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason; Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck Jr.; Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates; Subodh Chandra, a Cleveland lawyer who lost to Dann in the 2006 Democratic primary; and Columbus City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr.

Possible candidates on the GOP side: Betty D. Montgomery, the former state auditor and attorney general; former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine; former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman of Cincinnati; state Sen. Timothy J. Grendell of Chesterland; Delaware County Prosecutor David Yost; and Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel.

Heck and Chandra said they would consider running if Strickland asked. Mason said through a spokesman that he plans to run for re-election this fall. O'Brien and Yost said they are focused on re-election. DeWine declined to comment other than to say that, as Ohio chairman of Sen. John McCain's GOP campaign, he is concentrating on the presidential election.

Republican Jim Petro, who left the attorney general's office in 2006, said he probably would not run in November if Dann quit because under the state's term-limit laws he would be prohibited from seeking re-election in 2010 if he won in November. Petro said he is considering a run for Ohio chief justice in 2010.

jhallett@dispatch.com

mniquette@dispatch.com