Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), an advocate for environmental cleanup at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site, said in a statement Monday he will not run for re-election in November 2022.
“This doesn’t mean I’m leaving now – I still have two more years in my term and I intend to use that time to get a lot done,” Portman said, adding he has oversight projects and legislation that “I’m eager to get across the finish line.
“We live in an increasingly polarized country where members of both parties are being pushed further to the right and further to the left, and that means too few people who are actively looking to find common ground,” Portman said. Portman added that 82 of the bills he backed were signed into law by President Donald Trump and 68 by President Barack Obama.
Over the years, Portman supported increased funding for an on-site waste disposal facility at the former gaseous diffusion plant and threatened to block Obama’s nomination of to be DOE under secretary of energy for management and performance. Portman thought she was unsupportive of decommissioning at Portsmouth.
Portman is winding down his second six-year term in the Senate, first being elected in November 2010. He previously served in the executive branch, where from 2005 through 2007 he held positions including director of the Office of Management and Budget and U.S. trade representative in the George W. Bush administration. Before that Portman served Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives for 12 years.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a fierce supporter of Trump who voted against certification of the electoral college results officially cementing the Biden victory, has decided not to run, according to Thursday reports from CNN and other news outlets.
Likewise, Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted (R) Tweeted Thursday that he has decided to keep his current job and hopes to eventually run for governor.
Rep. Brad Wenstrum (R-Ohio), whose district includes Portsmouth, has shown up on some published lists after the Portman announcement and he seems to be considering a run.
“Throughout my life, I have been called to public service – as a doctor, as a soldier, and as a congressman,” Wenstrum said in an emailed statement via his press spokesman. “Over the coming weeks, I look forward to talking with my family, Ohio Republicans, and supporters about how I can best continue to serve our community, our state, and our country.”
Another potential GOP candidate is Josh Mandel, Ohio state treasurer from 2011 to 2019, according to CNN. Mandel ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate seat in 2012 but lost to Democrat Sherrod Brown and was pursuing a rematch with Brown in 2018 before withdrawing and citing his wife’s health, according to Ballotpedia. Another possible GOP candidate mentioned in press reports include Youngstown State university president and former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel.
Prospective candidates from the Democratic Party include former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton who received much attention for the state’s COVID-19 response, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley (D), Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley (D) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who has been a member of Congress since 2013.
“I haven’t made a decision yet but I’m looking seriously at it,” Ryan said via Twitter this week.
The Hill reported there is some Twitter buzz to recruit professional basketball superstar LeBron James, an Akron, Ohio native, to run for the seat. James has been an outspoken supporter of Democrats running for national office in recent years. Of course, James is currently plying his trade for the Los Angeles Lakers where he is reportedly making about $85-million over two seasons. A Senate salary is only $174,000 annually.
