Current:Home > InvestRepublican Matt Dolan has landed former US Sen. Rob Portman’s endorsement in Ohio’s Senate primary-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Republican Matt Dolan has landed former US Sen. Rob Portman’s endorsement in Ohio’s Senate primary
View Date:2024-12-23 17:10:55
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Matt Dolan has landed the endorsement of former U.S. Sen. Rob Portman in the fractious three-way primary to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown this fall, a potentially important boost in the final run-up to the contest.
In a letter addressed to fellow Ohioans, the Cincinnati Republican and his wife, Jane, said they decided that Dolan’s “conservative record of accomplishment and his commitment to continue to focus on achieving results in the U.S. Senate set him apart” from his rivals, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Trump-endorsed Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno.
The Portmans said LaRose and Moreno were also “good people, who care deeply about our state,” but that Dolan, a Cleveland-area state senator, was their choice.
“America faces tremendous challenges,” they wrote, “and it is more important than ever that we elect leaders who embody conservative values and principles and have a track record of getting things done.”
All three Senate contenders had sought Portman’s backing. He’s a moderate with a strong reputation in Republican circles, including for his skill at bipartisan dealmaking. He helped negotiate the $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2021.
A former federal budget director and U.S. trade representative to Republican President George W. Bush, Portman served in the Senate from 2011 to 2023. He announced his retirement in 2021, lamenting the partisanship and dysfunction in Washington. Portman launched a center focused on civility at the University of Cincinnati last year.
Dolan had hopes of securing Portman’s endorsement when he first ran for Senate in 2022, after fashioning himself a moderate pragmatist in Portman’s mold. But that was not to be. Portman instead endorsed Jane Timken, a former chair of the Ohio Republican Party, who started strong but ultimately finished fifth in the crowded field — with less than 6% of the vote. Former President Donald Trump’s endorsement fueled author and venture capitalist JD Vance to victory in that contest.
Dolan competes in a smaller field this year, where he’s jockeying with LaRose for the votes necessary to outperform the Moreno campaign’s support among Ohio’s strong Trump coalition.
Portman’s strong name recognition in southwest Ohio could be beneficial to Dolan as the state’s March 19 primary nears.
Dolan is best known in Cleveland, where his family owns baseball’s Cleveland Guardians, but that is also Moreno’s stronghold. LaRose hails originally from Akron, but has lived in the Columbus area since taking statewide office. Ohioans have twice elected him statewide, and he enjoys the strongest name recognition in the race by virtue of his high-profile job as the state’s elections chief.
Dolan praised Portman for his public service in a statement, saying he “showed that a good public servant not only delivers results, but also safeguards the inheritance of future generations.”
veryGood! (312)
Related
- Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Lemon quit X, formerly Twitter: 'Time for me to leave'
- Stud Earrings That We Think Are 'Very Demure, Very Cutesy'
- Fall in Love with Disney X Kate Spade’s Lady and the Tramp Collection: Fetch Deals Starting at Just $29
- Gwen Stefani cancels Atlantic City concert due to unspecified 'injury'
- Ranked voting will decide a pivotal congressional race. How does that work?
- Texas launches new investigation into Houston’s power utility following deadly outages after Beryl
- George Santos wants jury pool in his fraud trial questioned over their opinions of him
- Maryland extends the contract of athletic director Damon Evans through June 2029
- QTM Community Introduce
- Gilmore Girls’ Jared Padalecki Has a Surprising Reaction to Rory's Best Boyfriend Debate
Ranking
- Sister Wives’ Meri Brown Shares Hysterical Farmers Only Dating Profile Video After Kody Split
- Confrontational. Defensive. Unnecessary. Deion Sanders' act is wearing thin.
- Wildfire along California-Nevada line near Reno destroys 1 home, threatens hundreds more
- What vitamins should you take? Why experts say some answers to this are a 'big red flag.'
- We Can Tell You How to Get to Sesame Street—and Even More Secrets About the Beloved Show
- Why Chappell Roan Scolded VIP Section During Her Outside Lands Concert
- Sister Wives Season 19 Trailer: Why Kody Brown’s Remaining Wife Robyn Feels Like an “Idiot”
- British energy giant reports violating toxic pollutant limits at Louisiana wood pellet facilities
Recommendation
-
'Yellowstone's powerful opening: What happened to Kevin Costner's John Dutton?
-
Twilight Fans Reveal All the Editing Errors You Never Noticed
-
Connecticut Republicans pick candidates to take on 2 veteran Democrats in Congress
-
Ferguson police to release body camera footage of protest where officer was badly hurt
-
Mike Tyson has lived a wild life. These 10 big moments have defined his career
-
Drone video captures aftermath of home explosion that left 2 dead in Bel Air, Maryland
-
Diaper Bag Essentials Checklist: Here Are the Must-Have Products I Can't Live Without
-
A year later, sprawling Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump has stalled