Ohio’s soon-to-be-open Senate seat has prompted a rush to embrace Donald Trump among top Republicans interested in the job, in a state the former president won twice.
Jane Timken, who recently resigned as chair of the state party to prepare a campaign, announced her candidacy Thursday by offering herself as a “conservative disruptor” who helped sweep out moderate allies of Ohio’s anti-Trump former governor, John Kasich.
“I’m running for the United States Senate to stand up for you, just like when I stood next to President Trump and supported his America First agenda,” Timken said in her launch video.
Following GOP Sen. Rob Portman’s announcement that he would not seek re-election, Timken joins a Republican field that already includes Josh Mandel, the former state treasurer who entered the race last week with a vow that he, too, would “fight for President Trump’s America First agenda.”
