Pointing to “partisan gridlock” and challenges to making “progress on substantive policy,” U.S. Sen. Rob Portman said he won’t seek re-election next year to a third six-year term.

As a result of Portman’s Monday announcement, several Republicans and Democrats are considering a run to replace him, including U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan and Bill Johnson.

“I’m overwhelmed by supporters who are reaching out to encourage me to run for Senate,” said Ryan, D-Howland. “I haven’t made a decision yet, but I’m looking seriously at it. Ohio deserves leaders who fight for working people.”

Ryan, whose district includes most of Mahoning and Trumbull counties, said two months ago that he wanted to remain in the House if the redrawing of congressional lines for 2022 gave him a favorable district. The district lines will be drawn later this year.

About an hour after Portman’s announcement, Ryan sent a fundraising email stating the seat was a “must win” for Democrats to continue to control the Senate after the 2022 election.

The email added: “Ohio will be the center of the political map in 2022. We’ll be facing competitive races for Senate, governor and House seats across the state in 2022. Tim Ryan is committed to making sure Democrats win back Ohio. Will you chip in today to fund our early ground game?”

“I’ve been humbled by those asking me to consider additional ways to serve the hardworking people of the great state of Ohio,” said Johnson, R-Marietta, whose district includes all of Columbiana County and southern Mahoning County. “I am seriously considering this opportunity and over the next few weeks, I will talk to my family, friends and supporters to determine if this is the right time and the right opportunity.”

Also, U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Bainbridge, said in praising Portman: “There will be plenty of time in the coming weeks for lots of folks, myself among them, to consider their options moving forward.” Joyce’s district includes parts of Trumbull County.

Other possible Republican candidates include U.S. Reps. Jim Jordan of Urbana, Steve Stivers of Columbus, Warren Davidson of Troy and Brad Wenstrup of Cincinnati as well as Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, Attorney General Dave Yost, Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken and former state Treasurer Josh Mandel.

Other potential Democratic candidates include Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein and Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes of Akron.

The announcement by Portman, R-Terrace Park, came as a surprise as he was expected to run in 2022 and has $4.65 million in his campaign fund.

This will be the first time since Portman’s initial 2010 run — in which he defeated then-Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, a Democrat — that there is an open Senate seat in Ohio. That happened after Republican George V. Voinovich declined to run for a third term.

“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,” Portman said. “This is not a new phenomenon, of course, but a problem that has gotten worse over the past few decades.”

Portman said he decided to make his decision public 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.”

POLITICAL CAREER

Portman started his political career in 1989 as an associate White House counsel to President George H.W. Bush and served in that administration until 1991. He won a special election in 1993 for a U.S. House seat in southwest Ohio and served until 2005, leaving to become President George W. Bush’s United States trade representative until May 2006 and then director of the Office of Management and Budget until August 2007.

When Voinovich announced in 2009 that he wouldn’t run for re-election, Portman declared and in the 2010 election, he beat Fisher by about 16 percent.

Portman was reelected in 2016, beating former Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, by about 21 percent.

Portman also won all of his House general elections by double digits.

Portman publicly announced before the 2016 election that he wouldn’t vote for Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, after a 2005 Access Hollywood television show tape leaked a few weeks before the election in which the latter made lewd comments about women. Trump won the election despite Portman and a few other Republicans pulling their support.

Portman was a reliable vote for Trump during his presidency though he was somewhat critical of how Trump handled the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

REACTIONS

Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters said: “Over the past four years, Rob Portman has been one of Donald Trump’s biggest defenders so his attempt (Monday) to rewrite that history is ridiculous.” She added: “If Portman wants to complain about the death of civility and the triumph of partisan gridlock, he should take a long, hard look in the mirror and think about what he wants to be his legacy.”

In his announcement, Portman touted his bipartisanship, pointing out that 82 of his bills were signed into law by Trump and 68 by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

“I don’t think any Senate office has been more successful in getting things done,” he said.

Johnson said Portman “has been a champion for Ohio and our nation.”

Timken called Portman “a statesman whose service to our country and our party over nearly three decades has been invaluable.”

Gov. Mike DeWine, a fellow Republican, said Portman “has worked tirelessly on behalf of Ohioans during his two terms in the United States Senate. Sen. Portman has been a key partner in helping Ohio with federal COVID-19 relief and other pandemic-related issues.”

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, said: “We’ve not always agreed with one another, but we’ve always been able to put our differences aside to do what’s best for our state.”

Portman becomes the third Republican senator to announce he won’t run for reelection next year, joining Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Richard Burr of North Carolina.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com