COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline)-The long wait is finally over for the Ohio Republican Party.

At a hastily-called press conference scheduled for 2:30 this afternoon in the atrium of the Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus, former federal prosecutor D. Michael Crites will announce his candidacy for Ohio Attorney General.

However, according to Jason Mauk, executive director of the Ohio GOP, Crites's candidacy does not guarantee the party will endorse him for the post. The reality is, though, that a long list of high-profile Ohio Republicans has rejected the idea of running for the job.

Should the Ohio GOP eventually endorse Crites, a Columbus lawyer, he will oppose Democrat Richard Cordray, Ohio's current treasurer. If Cordray wins that election, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland will name another Democrat to fill the treasurer's post. If he loses, Cordray will keep his state job.

A special election for Ohio AG became necessary after former Ohio AG Marc Dann resigned in disgrace May 14. One week later, Strickland named Nancy Hardin Rogers, who left her post as dean of the law college at The Ohio State University, to serve as the state's top lawyer until the November elections. Rogers has said she has no interest in running for election herself.

Ohio Republicans have until Aug. 20 to certify a candidate for the attorney general's race. According to Mauk, the organization's central committee is scheduled to meet Aug. 2, presumably to discuss Crites's candidacy.

Dann served only 17 months of his four-year stint as Ohio AG, and this election will determine who will complete the two years left on his term. Whoever wins the AG post would have to run for re-election to keep the job in 2010.