Sen. Rob Portman gave a key endorsement in the crowded Republican primary for his Senate seat.
Portman endorsed Jane Timken, the former chairwoman of the Ohio Republican Party, which could help her attract centrist Republican voters in a competitive primary contest dominated by appeals to conservative Trump voters.
MARCO RUBIO TOPS FLORIDA SENATE RIVAL VAL DEMINGS AS BIDEN APPROVAL PLUMMETS: POLL
“I believe Jane Timken is the best candidate to advance conservative Republican policies to help Ohio workers and families. Jane is smart and hard-working and understands the needs of Ohioans. I believe Ohioans would be proud to have her representing us in the United States Senate. She has a record of success,” Portman said. “I am confident in her ability to win both the primary and the general elections, ensuring that this Senate seat remains Republican with a 50-50 Senate, and so much at stake.”
Portman, widely viewed as a centrist Republican, held the Senate seat since 2011 and announced he would not seek reelection last year. Portman’s endorsement follows an endorsement Timken received Tuesday from former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway. Timken has also received endorsements from South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik in recent months.
“Senator Portman is a thoughtful, conservative leader who has served Ohio with distinction, and I’m honored to have his support,” Timken said in a statement. “Rob successfully led the effort to pass President Trump’s tax cuts, is the leader in the U.S. Senate in fighting the opioid epidemic, and has consistently delivered results for Ohio on issue after issue. He is a champion for the unborn, a protector of our 2nd Amendment rights, and worked with President Trump to advance three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Timken served as the chairwoman of the Ohio Republican Party from 2017 to 2021. Some of her top competitors have criticized her for declining to condemn Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez for voting to impeach Trump last year before she stepped down as chairwoman in February 2021.
“I don’t know if I would have voted the way he did,” she told Cleveland.com at the time. “I think he’s spending some time explaining to folks his vote, and I think he’s got a rational reason why he voted that way. I think he’s an effective legislator, and he’s a very good person.”
After stepping down as chairwoman of the party to run for Senate seat, the party moved to censure Gonzalez for his vote. Timken tweeted her support for the party’s censure of Gonzalez, noting former President Donald Trump previously endorsed her bid to become the party chair.
As President Trump’s hand-picked Party Chair who traveled 150,000 miles across Ohio supporting his agenda, I fully agree with the censure of Anthony Gonzalez.
The impeachment was a sham that betrayed the Constitution and went against Ohioans’ interests.
— Jane Timken (@JaneTimkenOH) May 7, 2021
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Timken’s top competitors have touted their Trump bona fides during the race. Josh Mandel, who leads most polling in the race, has repeatedly argued the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. J.D. Vance, who previously criticized Trump during the 2016 election, has argued he is the candidate most aligned with the former president on core issues. Mike Gibbons, who has risen in recent polls, recently released ads portraying his opponents as “Washington wimps” who previously criticized Trump.
Trump has not made an endorsement in the race yet.
A recent poll from the conservative Trafalgar group that sampled 1,085 likely Republican voters from Feb. 8-10 found Timken tied for fourth place in the primary. Mandel led the poll at 21%, followed by Gibbons at 16%, Vance at 14%, Timken at 10%, and Matt Dolan at 10%. The poll had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
