Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, who was the main advocate of former President Donald J. Trump in his impeachment process in the House, decided not to run for a seat that was vacated by the retirement of a Republican colleague, Senator Rob Portman, in 2022, an aide said Thursday.
“Sir. Jordan believes that, at the moment, he is better suited to represent the Ohioans in the House of Representatives, where, as the leading Republican on the Judiciary Committee, he can advance America’s agenda first, promote conservative values and hold accountable the big government, ”Russell Dye, a spokesman for Jordan’s campaign for Congress, said.
Jordan’s high-profile defense of Trump made him widely regarded as the Republican with the best chance of winning the Ohio Senate primaries in 2022. While more than half a dozen other Republicans in Ohio are considering Senate proposals to replace Portman, neither has the national profile or Trump bona fides of Jordan, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom five days after the January 6 riot in the capital.
Jordan has had ambitions to lead Republicans in the House for a long time and hopes to become President of the House if his party gains a majority in the House after the 2022 elections. But the conservative arsonist lost a minority leader candidacy to Congressman Kevin McCarthy of California after the 2018 elections.
Jordan’s decision not to run was first reported by Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer.
No major candidate has formally entered the race for the Ohio Senate in 2022 since Portman’s announcement on Monday that he would not seek a third term. But Republicans who are considering an offer include Josh Mandel, the former state treasurer who lost a 2012 race to Sen. Sherrod Brown; Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State; JD Vance, the Ohio-born author of “Hillbilly Elegy”; Jane Timken, the president of the Ohio Republican Party; and several members of the Ohio Congressional delegation. Two other Ohio Republicans, Jon A. Husted, the state’s deputy governor, and former deputy Pat Tiberi, said they would not run for the Senate.
Ohio Democrats who expressed interest in running for the Senate include Rep. Tim Ryan, who was among the first candidates to dispute Trump’s ouster in 2020; Mayor Nan Whaley of Dayton, who is also considering running for governor in 2022; and Dr. Amy Acton, former Ohio Department of Health director, who received an endorsement on Twitter by Connie Schultz, Mr. Brown’s wife.
Portman is one of three Republican senators who said they will not seek re-election in 2022. Senators Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania and Richard M. Burr of North Carolina are also retiring, leaving the party to defend three seats in what should be competitive states next year. That list can grow. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has not yet said whether he will seek a third term, nor will Senators Chuck Grassley, Iowa, 87, or Richard Shelby, Alabama, 86.
Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Raphael Warnock of Georgia – two Democrats who entered the House after winning the special elections – will face voters again in 2022 for full six-year terms.