Former President Donald Trump’s summer endorsement spree skipped over Ohio, where an expanding field of Republican Senate hopefuls is jockeying intensely for the seal-of-approval poised to matter most in the 2022 primary.

Trump’s hands-off approach to Ohio contradicts early endorsements delivered in other competitive Republican congressional primaries — including Senate campaigns in Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, as well as one for the House in Wyoming. The former president’s endorsement in the GOP Senate primary in Ohio could prove particularly decisive, with Republicans ascribing his apparent patience to an array of factors not present in other races.