Two Dark Lords?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Keyan

I think I read a quote from one of Tolkien's letters where he states clearly that someone who took the Ring with the power to wield it would in fact need to gather an army and overthrow and defeat Sauron in a physical sense. Sauron has power without being in possession of the Ring, and from what I can tell if someone were to claim it Sauron would NOT be destroyed in the same way he is when the Ring is physically destroyed.

If the Ring were claimed, and Sauron unsuccessfully faced the claimant in a one-on-one contest, the result for him would have been the same as its destruction. Letter 246 suggests that probably only Gandalf would have had the strength to keep it from him, however.
A lesser claimant such as Elrond or Galadriel would likely do as you say, using the Ring's powers of command and domination to amass an army great enough to defeat Sauron militarily.