Civic leaders in Northeast Ohio past and present have been trying to think and plan beyond their traditional city and county borders for more than 100 years, not always successfully.
Timken
COLUMBUS Jane Timken, a staunchly pro-Trump Republican and the former chair of the Ohio Republican Party, announced Thursday she is running for the U.S. Senate in 2022.
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, announced recently he won’t run for re-election next year, so the race will be for an open seat and is expected to attract plenty of candidates.
Former state treasurer Josh Mandel, who previously ran for the Senate, also has announced he is running again.
No prominent Democrats have announced yet, but candidates thought to be looking at a race include U.S. Rep, Tim Ryan from the Youngstown area, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and Dr. Amy Acton, former director of the state health department.
Julie Carr Smyth, Phil Long / AP
Jane Timken, the Canton conservative who was hand-picked by Donald Trump to become Ohio Republican Party chair in 2017, and Josh Mandel, the former state treasurer from Northeast Ohio who ran unsuccessfully against Democrat Sherrod Brown for the U.S. Senate in 2012.
That, to me, is the most likely 2022 primary match-up on the Republican side for the Senate seat now held by Rob Portman, who is taking a pass on running for a third term.
Those Trump fans who were waiting for Rep. Jim Jordan, the fire-breathing Trump acolyte, to jump into the fray can forget it. Jordan took himself out of the running last week, saying he prefers staying in the House. More on that later.