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Republican Jim Jordan “is considering” running for the seat of GOP Senator Rob Portman after the two-term senator from Ohio announced he would not seek re-election in 2022, Fox News has learned.
A familiar source told Fox News that Jordan, R-Ohio, is “thinking about it.”
But Jordan has yet to commit, saying he hasn’t decided yet.
OHIO SEN. ROB PORTMAN NOT RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION
“We haven’t decided anything,” Jordan said on “The Ingraham Angle” Wednesday night, adding that he was focusing on his work in the House.
Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, pauses while speaking to members of the media in the Senate Subway at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on Thursday, January 30, 2020 (Photographer: Stefani Reynolds / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Speculation around a Jordanian Senate race comes after Portman said on Monday he would not seek a third term, citing the congressional deadlock as the reason.
“I don’t think any Senate office has been more successful in getting things done, but honestly, it has become increasingly difficult to break the partisan deadlock and make progress on substantive politics, and it helped my decision, ”Portman told me.
Portman served a decade and a half in the House before serving as the United States Trade Representative and Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the administration of President George W. Bush. He was first elected to the Senate in 2010 and easily re-elected in 2016.
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Referring to his three decades in public service, the senator noted that “it was not an easy decision because representing the people of Ohio has been an honor. But I’ve been doing this for a long time, longer than I expected ”.
Portman’s decision to retire rather than run for re-election will likely make the GOP’s hopes of reclaiming the chamber in the 2022 election more difficult.
The Senate is split 50 to 50 between the two parties, but Democrats hold a slim majority due to Vice President Kamala Harris’ decisive vote. That means Republicans need only reverse a seat in 2022 to regain the majority they lost in the 2020 election.
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But the GOP is defending 20 of the 34 seats up for grabs in the upcoming midterm elections.
Paul Steinhauser of Fox News contributed to this report.
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