Springer's First Love

12/31/1998 at 12:00 AM EST

Talk show host (and fight referee) Jerry Springer is saying he won't rule out a return to the political ring. The former Cincinnati mayor, speaking over the weekend at an Ohio voter registration rally, declared politics is his "passion" and it's likely he'll return to the city one day to run for office. He recently had considered a challenge to Republican U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine in 2000, but declined, saying he had already committed his time to his free-wheeling TV program. "I can't imagine doing the show while in the Senate," he said.