Ohio Sen. Rob Portman pushed back on any suggestion that he is running for president, even as several headlines have suggested he's a sure bet in 2016,
USA Today reported.
"I think they're bored," Portman described last week of the ongoing media chatter after the news void created when the hard-fought 2014 midterm elections ended.
"Now that the election is over, everybody's turning to 2016. And my response is ... let's legislate for a while. Let's not talk about the next election," Portman said.
Calling Washington "obsessed with the presidential parlor game," USA Today noted that Portman's name continues to land on a short list of whispered candidates for the GOP, which also includes Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and occasionally Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Without a favorite and with Hillary Clinton rallying Democrats' interest, Republican speculation grows with Portman's personal backstory getting shoved into the early story lines as political writers scramble for some post-election juice, USA Today noted.
At least one longtime Hillary supporter views a Portman-Jeb Bush presidential ticket as formidable,
cleveland.com reported.
Clinton associate Harold Ickes, in an interview with the New York Daily News, gave the team props during a Ready for Hillary event in Manhattan.
"I would think that a Jeb Bush and a Rob Portman – just as a hypothetical – would be a strong ticket for them," he said. "Can a Democrat win the White House without both Ohio and Florida? The answer is yes, but it then has to be a perfect storm."
Bush has not yet made a decision on his own candidacy but he turned political heads when news broke that he would make a speech during the commencement program for graduates of the University of South Carolina — a key primary nominating state,
The Washington Post noted.
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