Republican Rob Portman will not seek reelection in 2022, the junior Ohio senator said in a surprise announcement on Monday.
“This was not an easy decision because representing the people of Ohio has been the greatest honor of my career,” Portman, 65, said in a statement. “I am really looking forward to being home in Ohio full-time, seeing family and friends more, and getting back to the private sector, including being able to be more involved in the community and in our family business. And I will always be involved in public policy issues.”
In explaining his decision to leave the Senate, Portman expressed his frustrations and worries about Washington gridlock and partisan polarization.
“I don’t think any Senate office has been more successful in getting things done, but honestly, it has gotten harder and harder to break through the partisan gridlock and make progress on substantive policy, and that has contributed to my decision,” Portman said. “We live in an increasingly polarized country where members of both parties are being pushed further to the right and further to the left, and that means too few people who are actively looking to find common ground. This is not a new phenomenon, of course, but a problem that has gotten worse over the past few decades.”
He is the third Republican in the 50-50 divided Senate to announce his intention to retire after 2022, joining Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey and North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr.
Portman has decades of experience in Washington politics. He represented Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District from 1993 to 2005, followed by roles in the Bush administration, including a one-year stint as the U.S. trade representative and director of the Office of Management and Budget from 2006 to 2007.
He joined the Senate in 2011, elected to an open seat the same year the Tea Party wave dominated the 2010 midterm elections, and he was reelected in 2016 with 58% support in what was one of the most expensive Senate races of the cycle.
“Over the next two years, I look forward to being able to focus all my energy on legislation and the challenges our country faces rather than on fundraising and campaigning,” Portman said. “I decided to make my announcement now because I have made up my mind, but also because it will allow whichever Republicans who choose to run plenty of time to gear up for a statewide race.”
In the Senate, Portman, a policy wonk at heart, was a leader on policy issues related to combating the opioid epidemic and Chinese intellectual property theft.
Portman in 2013 became the first Senate Republican to announce support for same-sex marriage after his son came out as gay.
