Portman Announces Senate Candidacy
Last summer, Rob Portman was said to be a viable candidate to be John McCain’s running mate. This morning, he became the man most likely to be the next US senator from the great state of Ohio:
Former Republican Congressman Rob Portman announced Wednesday that he will run to succeed Ohio Senator George Voinovich.
Portman made the announcement at the Golden Lamb in Lebanon.
Yesterday, I read an article by Amy Walter in which she wondered about the GOP’s prospects for holding the seats of retiring GOP senators:
How’s this for a welcome present? National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn, R-Texas, has been in his new job for just a few weeks and already four GOP incumbents, Christopher “Kit” Bond (Mo.), Sam Brownback (Kan.), Mel Martinez (Fla.) and George Voinovich (Ohio) have decided to call it quits. This comes on the heels of two difficult election cycles where Republicans have lost 13 seats, 14 if you count Norm Coleman (Minn.). Are Republicans doomed to another losing cycle? Or does the earliness of these retirements mean Republicans will have the time they need to raise money and recruit the strong candidates?
This is a good start in replacing Voinovich, Bond, Martinez and Brownback. Hugh Hewitt explains why this might actually excite the GOP base in this post:
It would have been hard to rally Buckeye State Republicans much less conservative activists nationally to Voinovich’s side, and Mel Martinez had similar problems. Portman and Rubio, by contrast, will excite the national base which will help with fundraising and organization. Kit Bond is greatly loved in Missouri, but he’s been there a very long time and a re-election bid wouldn’t have energized a single out-of-state GOPer, whereas the possible return of Jim Talent, well known and widely respected across the grass roots on defense issues, would bring national grassroots attention to the race. Sam Brownback’s different because he is still a leader in the GOP, but he’s been committed to leaving for some time, and Kansas is a pretty good ground on which to wage an off-year election when the White House is held by a Democrat. In short, three of the retirements we have already seen represent net pluses when it comes to the energy that will flow into the 2010 contests.
Portman’s conservative credentials are solid. More importantly, he isn’t a protectionist. Lord knows there’s too many protectionist Democrats wandering the halls on Capitol Hill. The GOP doesn’t need to add to that total.
Here’s what Reid Wilson said about Portman’s announcing for Sen. Voinovich’s Senate seat:
National Republicans scored their first major recruiting victory of the 2010 cycle when ex-Rep. Rob Portman (R) jumped into the race to replace retiring Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) Wednesday. Portman made his entry official at an announcement in Cincinnati, an area he represented in Congress for a dozen years.
“At a difficult time in our state and national economy, I believe I can make a positive difference in the lives of people throughout Ohio,” Portman said. “Over the past year or so, as I have traveled across the Buckeye State and listened to Ohioans talk about what matters most to them, I learned that we all have a lot in common, strong family values, a solid work ethic and a common-sense approach to solving problems,” Portman said. “I am committed to working with all Ohioans to get our state back on the path to greatness.”
The Republican Party of Ohio just took a major step in rebuilding itself. For years, Ohio Republicans were caught up in scandals, the most prominent of which were Bob Ney’s involvement with Jack Abramoff and Gov. Bob Taft’s criminal conviction.
I suspect that those ethical dilemmas will be a distant memory by the time voting starts in 2010, thanks in part to Rep. Portman’s candidacy, in large part thanks to John Kasich’s work with RechargeOhio.com. Things will really get cooking if Chairman Kasich jumps into the governor’s race as expected. The instant he jumps into the race is the minute Ted Strickland starts making retirement plans. It’s that simple.
There’s an additional dynamic that would be at work in Ohio that would help down-ticket Republicans: Chairman Kasich and Representative Portman are running for statewide office, meaning that they’ll have lots of opportunities to campaign with state legislators and state legislative candidates.
Anytime a GOP candidate or legislator has the opportunity to campaign with Rep. Portman and Chairman Kasich, rest assured that they’ll jump at that opportunity. Both men are young, energetic and photogenic. Both men have a long list of legislative accomplishments.
Sen. Cornyn has alot of work ahead of him but it’s work that might pay off bigtime. I’ve paid attention to Sen. Cornyn over the last six years. He isn’t a man that’s easily underestimated. In fact, he’s one of the most formidable Republicans in the Senate. Thanks to Rep. Portman’s announced candidacy for the US Senate, Sen. Cornyn’s job just got a little easier.
Technorati Tags: Rob Portman, span Senate, John Cornyn, John Kasich, RechargeOhio.com, Reform, Election 2010, Bob Taft, Bob Ney, Jack Abramoff, Corruption
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog