CLEVELAND -- City councilman Joseph Cimperman announced Tuesday that he will run for Congress.

He will face run against Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

This will be the first significant challenge that Kucinich has had to face since winning the seat in 1996, NewsChannel5 reported.

Both candidates are native Clevelanders who started in local city government.

They both have blue-collar roots and are known as passionate, liberal Democrats.

Cimperman said the similarities end there.

He accused Kucinich of being more interested in long-shot runs for the White House than serving the city of Cleveland in Washington.