He said he will decide by the summer whether he will challenge George Voinovich, the Republican incumbent who is running for his second term in 2004.

Springer is notorious for his US TV show, where episodes have sensationalist titles like "I married my horse" and guests have erupted into violence on air.

I don't need a job Jerry Springer

Springer said: "There are pluses and minuses. The plus is that I'm known by everybody. The minus is that I'm known by everybody."

The 59-year-old told the winter meeting of the Ohio Democratic Party Chairs Association he had the resources to mount a campaign, which he believed might cost $20m (£12.2m).

He said he may also consider running for the mayoralty of Cincinnati again in 2005 or 2006 if his Senate campaign is unsuccessful.

Political work

"I want to be helpful in rebuilding the party," he said. "Whether I have to be a candidate is a totally separate issue. I don't need a job."

Springer is no stranger to political campaigns and is often vocal on subjects close to him.

He was elected mayor of Cincinnati in 1979, with the biggest majority the state had seen so far.

London-born

He then ran for Governor of Ohio in 1982.

Earlier, he was a campaign fundraiser for Robert Kennedy during the 1960s.

Although Springer is seen as an all-American TV presenter he was actually born in London after his family fled the Holocaust.

He and his family emigrated to New York when he was five years old.