(Cleveland) - Former State Treasurer Josh Mandel has announced he's running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat that will open up in 2022, when Sen. Rob Portman retires.
Mandel said on his Facebook page, "watching this sham impeachment has made my blood boil, and motivated me to run." Mandel was one of the early Ohio supporters of Donald Trump when he announced his run for President in 2015. He says, "I'm going to Washington to fight for President Trump's America First Agenda."
Mandel is also making it clear he wants a GOP majority in the Senate, and is making his position clear that he will not be a moderate, saying "I will pulverize the Uniparty -- the cabal of Democrats and Republicans who sound the same and stand for nothing."
This will be Mandel's third try at the U.S. Senate. He won the Republican primary in 2012, but was defeated by incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown. Mandel ran again in the 2018 race, but suddenly dropped out in January 2018, saying he needed to spend more time with family due to his wife's health issues. Former Congressman Jim Renacci eventually became the GOP nominee, and lost to Sen. Brown. Mandel and his wife divorced in 2020.
Mandel is likely to face a challenge in the Republican primary from former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, who resigned her party post last week, and said she'll announce her plans in the near future. A number of Democrats are considering running for their party's nomination, but none have yet made their intentions known.
(Photo from campaign web site)
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