COLUMBUS — Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, set to formally announce his candidacy for president on Saturday, will be in Cincinnati on Feb. 26 for a fundraiser geared to supporters from the Cincinnati and Dayton areas.

State Sen. Eric Kearney, D-Cincinnati, and his wife, Jan-Michele, a classmate of Obama's at Harvard Law School, are organizing the 8 a.m. breakfast event at the downtown Westin hotel. State Sen. Tom Roberts, D-Trotwood, is on the host committee.

"He has the intellectual capacity to handle the job. He also has the message that addresses the need for the country to move ahead economically, yet not leave our poor citizens behind," Kearney said of Obama, a longtime friend.

Tickets are going for $100, $500, $1,000 and $2,300, the federal contribution limit, said Kearney.

Kearney said that he and his wife had to "work hard" to make Cincinnati one of the first 10 stops of Obama's campaign.

Obama is among a crowd of Democrats in the race that includes U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York, Joseph Biden of Delaware and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut; former U.S. Sen. and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards of North Carolina; New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland; and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1608 or

whershey@DaytonDailyNews.com.