While most of the Senate GOP primary field in Ohio is vying for the endorsement of President Donald Trump, Jane Timken might have secured the next-best thing with the official support of retiring Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
"This is the most significant thing that has happened in the Senate race," a Republican operative told The Hill. "Period. End of discussion."
Timken, the former chair of the Ohio Republican Party (2017-2021), reportedly raised $250,000 in the 24 hours after Portman's endorsement this week.
"The 800-pound gorilla in this thing is going to be the Trump endorsement," an Ohio-based GOP strategist told The Hill. "That will change dramatically whatever this race is currently. There are some folks that absolutely need that endorsement, there are other folks that may not think they need it."
There are signs of momentum for Timken, who helped Trump defeat former Gov. John Kasich in Ohio, including an endorsement from former Trump White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, who called Timken a "true MAGA champion."
"That is the hottest rumor in Ohio right now," GOP state Sen. Michael Rulli, who has also endorsed Timken, told The Hill of the coveted Trump seal of approval. "If that happens, in my humble opinion, Jane would lock it up."
Currently, The Trafalgar Group has Josh Mandel with a 4.6-point lead in the polls (21%), with Mike Gibson (16.4%) second, followed by J.D. Vance (14.3%), Matt Dolan (10.2%), and Timken at 9.8% in fifth.
"What people forget is how popular the Portman brand is in Ohio with Republicans," the GOP operative said told The Hill. "Rob is not the flashiest person. He has 30 years of getting sh** done.
"President Trump respects strength, winning, and success."
Of those Senate GOP primary leading candidates, only Dolan is not opening vying for Trump's endorsement.
"Rob Portman has not been particularly antagonistic to President Trump the way people like Matt Dolan and others have been," veteran Ohio GOP strategist Mark Weaver told The Hill. "I don't imagine he's particularly angry at Rob Portman."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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