Hours after pundits and pols were calling him the early favorite for the Republican nomination to succeed Sen. Rob Portman, R-Oh., in 2022, Rep. Jim Jordan revealed late Thursday afternoon he would not run after all. Jordan, a spokesman told reporters, planned to seek re-election to the House next year.
The swashbuckling conservative and former head of the House Republican Freedom Caucus was considered a cinch to have the backing of President Trump’s organization in the state and Trump himself.
No sooner had Jordan taken himself out than political eyes were focused on State GOP Chairman and fellow Trump ally Jane Timken. With Jordan in the race, Timken had been thought unlikely to run.
Now the chairman—for whom Trump made calls to help her get elected in 2017 over an ally of then-Gov. John Kasich—is considered a very likely Senate candidate.
Also now considered a “cinch” to get in the primary is Columbus-area Rep. Steve Stivers, who—while not close to Trump—supported the former president on just about every vote.
Two other Republican names that have popped up since Jordan’s announcement are those of lawyer and best-selling author J.D. Vance and former State Treasurer Josh Mandel. Vance, famed for his critically acclaimed “Hillbilly Elegy,” is a popular speaker at GOP and conservative events.
Mandel, the GOP’s 2012 U.S. Senate nominee, surprised the state in 2018 by announcing he was abandoning another Senate bid to deal with what he called “my wife’s health issues.”
The decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran has since divorced his wife and, at 43, signaled he wants to get back in politics. Given how “red” Ohio has become and the lack of attractive Democratic candidates, the May Republican primary is considered tantamount to election in the fall.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.