COLUMBUS (WCMH) — For the first time since in more than a decade, Ohioans will send a new senator to Congress in two years, with Republican Rob Portman announcing Monday that he will not seek reelection.
Portman said he made his announcement now so that a successor would have time to put together a campaign. With that mind, below are several names to consider, both Republican and Democrat.
One name not being mentioned here that might get raised is that of Rep. Jim Jordan. Jordan might be the most prominent Republican from Ohio in Congress, frequently appearing on political talk shows. He has represented the Fourth District in the northern part of the state since 2006 and has risen to become the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Jordan’s success in the House — combined with lingering questions about whether he knew of sexual abuse allegations against Dr. Richard Strauss from his days as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State from 1987 to ’95 — may make him less inclined to consider a Senate run.
Four Republicans to consider:
1. Frank LaRose, Ohio secretary of state since 2019. An Army veteran who served as a Green Beret and received the Bronze Star, he served in the state senate previously. During the 2020 presidential election, the 41-year-old was central in explaining Ohio’s voting process as controversy swirled in other states, and he seems highly regarded among members of both parties.
2. Josh Mandel, state treasurer from 2011 to ’19 from northeast Ohio. A 43-year-old who served with the U.S. Marines, he put together runs for Democrat Sherrod Brown’s Senate seat in 2012 and ’18. In ’12, he lost in the general election 51%-45%. In ’18, he dropped out of the race before the primary election, citing family reasons.
3. Jim Renacci, a former congressman from northeast Ohio. The 62-year-old has run for the Senate before, an unsuccessful campaign to unseat Brown in 2018. In recent weeks, he has been using his campaign website and social media feeds is an apparent effort to challenge Mike DeWine in the 2022 gubernatorial primary. Running for Senate would require a sudden pivot from him.
4. Steve Stivers, who represents Ohio’s 15th U.S. House District, including portions of Franklin County. Stivers, 55, is a brigadier general in the Ohio Army National Guard. Like Portman, he is viewed as a moderate conservative and someone who could work across the aisle in the Senate.
Others to watch: Former U.S. Rep Pat Tiberi, Ohio Republican Party chairman Jane Timken
Four Democrats to consider:
1. Richard Cordray, former Ohio attorney general and treasurer from the Columbus area. Cordray, 61, lost a close race to DeWine in the 2018 gubernatorial election. He has experience in Washington as director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau under President Barack Obama, although he may have better name recognition as a former Jeopardy champion.
2. David Pepper, former chairperson of the Ohio Democratic Party, from Cincinnati. Pepper, 49, has regularly spoken out against Portman on social media. “I have been very critical of Sen. Portman in recent years,” he wrote on Monday. “I hope he sees these final 2 years as the opportunity to do true public, patriotic service.” He could turn that momentum into a run.
3. Tim Ryan, who represents the 13th District in the U.S. House, which includes the Youngstown area. Ryan, 47, might lose his district as part of the next redistricting process anyway, and he could be seen as a Democrat who could appeal to Republicans by focusing on economic growth in Ohio. He has said he will be “looking seriously” at a Senate run.
4. Nan Whaley, mayor of Dayton. Before Portman’s announcement, Whaley, 45, had said she would not seek reelection in Dayton, leaving people to speculate on her next move. She came to prominence during a mass shooting in Dayton in 2019, and she has worked on the opioid crisis and been a proponent of downtown revitalization in Dayton.
Others to watch: Ohio House minority leader Emilia Sykes, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, former state senator Nina Turner