Former Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., wants another shot at the Senate seat he failed to win in 2010.

Sestak announced Tuesday that he has formed an exploratory committee for a 2016 Senate bid. It would likely be a rematch with Republican Sen. Patrick J. Toomey, who defeated Sestak by 2 points in a great year for Republicans nationally.

“The Senate needs an independent leader accountable only to ‘We the People,’ not any other interests … a leader accountable for deeds, not intentions,” Sestak said in a statement.

Toomey outspent Sestak 2-to-1 in the 2010 Senate race. Sestak hopes to minimize that margin by raising money now. He raised $460,000 in the first three months of 2013 and had most of that left as of March 31. Toomey raised $544,000 in the first quarter and had $2.4 million in cash on hand.

Sestak, a retired Navy admiral, was elected to the House in a suburban Philadelphia district in 2006. He defeated Sen. Arlen Specter in the 2010 Democratic primary after Specter left the Republican Party.