Republican Sen. Rob Portman’s Monday retirement announcement caught the Ohio and national political world off guard, but it didn’t take long for figures from both parties to start eyeing the race to succeed him.
Republicans have the far larger bench in this state, and a number of them have publicly or privately expressed interest already. The following politicians have confirmed that they’re looking at running to succeed Portman:
The only one of these people who laid out a timeline for when he expected to decide was Obhof, who said that “one who is considering it ought to take a deep breath and consider it over the course of days or a week or two.”
A few other Republicans are also reportedly thinking about getting in, though we haven’t heard anything directly from them yet:
Several more Republicans declined to rule out a bid when asked:
Several media outlets have mentioned a few others as possibilities:
One person who quickly took his name out of contention, though, was former Gov. Josh Kasich.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Tim Ryan quickly said he was thinking about a Senate run. Ryan is infamous for flirting with campaigns for higher office in Ohio but always running for re-election, though his calculations could change if Republicans leave him with a hostile House seat in the upcoming round of redistricting.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley hadn’t ruled out a Senate bid before Portman retired, and she reiterated Monday that she wasn’t closing the door. Whaley, who also has been eyeing bids for governor or the U.S. House, said after Portman’s announcement that she’d be keeping an open mind about her future plans and would be “making a decision in the coming weeks.”
Franklin County Recorder Danny O'Connor, who lost two tight races in the conservative 12th Congressional District in 2018, also didn’t reject the idea of a Senate campaign when asked.
Other Democrats mentioned include:
In the no column are former state Sen. Nina Turner, who is running in the anticipated special election for the 11th Congressional District, and Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Aftab Pureval, who is campaigning for mayor of Cincinnati.