Republican Matt Dolan, co-owner of Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians, has opened an exploratory committee as he mulls a 2022 Senate bid.
The Ohio state senator, 56, is personally wealthy and hails from Northeast Ohio, a key battleground in statewide races. The question is whether Republican primary voters, overwhelmingly supportive of former President Donald Trump, are interested in a candidate who identifies more as a pragmatic conservative than a “Make America Great Again” loyalist. Dolan is attempting to figure that out.
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“He is a rational guy, and his exploratory committee is exactly that,” a knowledgeable Republican insider said Friday. “If he doesn’t see a path forward, he will not file” to run.
Sen. Rob Portman, a second-term Republican, is retiring at the end of next year. Rep. Tim Ryan has the Democratic primary to himself, at least so far. But the field of GOP primary candidates is crowded and seemingly growing by the day, and almost exclusively with contenders who are competing to prove they are the most pro-Trump of the bunch.
In that regard, Dolan could occupy a unique lane, a dynamic that might give him a fighting chance.
“As [President] Joe Biden and Democrats in Washington push America to the brink of socialism, open our borders and attempt to rewrite the Constitution, I am concerned as an Ohioan about protecting our conservative values and fighting for what matters most,” Dolan wrote on his exploratory website. “I know serious problems require serious leadership. It’s time to focus on what matters.”
Republicans in the race or poised to enter include wealthy businessman and 2018 Senate candidate Jim Gibbons; former State Treasurer and 2012 Senate nominee Josh Mandel; Cuban immigrant and entrepreneur Bernie Moreno; former Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken; and venture capitalist J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy.
Trump won Ohio in 2020 with 53% of the vote, to 45% for Biden. Republican insiders monitoring the unfolding Senate race believe that being overtly pro-Trump is a prerequisite for capturing the nomination. However, if Dolan runs, there is a possibility he might cause problems for Mandel, who also makes his home base in Northeastern Ohio.
“He could be a factor in cutting into Mandel’s Cleveland base,” a Republican strategist in Ohio said.
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Mandel has been an aggressor in the primary since launching his campaign, the exact opposite of the image Dolan has carved out as a state senator. “Now is not the time for civility. Now is not the time for bipartisanship. Now is the time to FIGHT,” Mandel tweeted on Friday.
The winner of the Republican primary, in April of next year, will be favored to win the general election.
