Washington ? Jerry Springer, the talk show host whose nationally syndicated program often spotlighted strippers and skinheads, officially filed papers Monday to run for the U.S. Senate from Ohio.

The Senate clerk received the statement of candidacy and organization for the “Jerry Springer for U.S. Senate” committee Monday afternoon, according to a spokesman at the clerk’s office. The documents were sent by certified mail last week.

Springer, the former mayor of Cincinnati, will make a final decision on whether to run by the end of the month. State Sen. Eric Fingerhut has already announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination and the right to challenge first-term Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, who served as governor of Ohio from 1991-99.

Voinovich, who won in 1998 with 57 percent of the vote, is considered a formidable candidate.

Springer, 59, filed the papers to avoid possible legal problems connected to a 30-minute fund-raising infomercial that started airing last Thursday, according to Mike Ford, Springer’s political adviser.

The infomercial is part biography and part fund-raiser.