Senator Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, speaks with members of the media on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021 as he walks the Senate subway at the Capitol in Washington.
Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A group of power brokers in Ohio has reached out to corporate executives across the state to try to recruit them for the seat of Republican Rob Portman in the Senate in 2022, in an effort to dissuade pro-Trump contenders from winning that contest. , people say. familiar with the matter.
Some of those who have started to engage with potential candidates include backers and business types close to former Republican Gov. John Kasich in Ohio, these people said.
Kasich is one of former President Donald Trump’s most prominent GOP critics. He was one of the few Republicans to appear at the Democratic National Convention last summer to endorse Joe Biden.
The ability to try to win a Republican primary in what appears to be a divided party leads some executives to choose not to enter. venture capitalist and a digital marketing manager.
Several people are hesitant to join the race because a Republican primarily involves a battle for the base of the party and likely endorsement by Trump himself. If he endorses it, Trump will likely support someone more in line with his agenda as opposed to a more traditional Republican.
Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, member of House Freedom Caucus, will not run for the Portman seat, his office recently announced. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Said in a statement yesterday that after meeting Trump, the former president is “committed to helping elected Republicans in the House and Senate by 2022.”
GOP politicians loyal to Trump who are reportedly in the mix to potentially run include Rep. Steve Stivers and Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party Jane Timken.
Political strategists say they are not surprised by the difficulty of finding a business-minded candidate. It is the latest signal that the Republican primaries for Portman’s seat will be expansive.
“Will likely be a huge field in the GOP primary, with picks of all the ideological streaks,” Charlie Black, a former Kasich strategist, told CNBC. It is “to be expected,” Black said of hiring business leaders, “but there will be conservative candidates who are not married to Trump.”
Portman announced on Monday that he will not pursue re-election in 2022 as it “has become increasingly difficult to break the partisan gridlock and make progress on substantive policy,” he said. Portman was a Republican legislator who voted to uphold the electoral college results and confirm Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
The executives with Republican ties who have already experienced efforts to get them into the race include Alex Fischer, the president and CEO of The Columbus Partnership, and Mark Kvamme, a venture capitalist who has been in Ohio for more than a decade, said the famous people. .
Another executive who has been listed as a candidate on the Democratic side is Nancy Kramer, a founder of Ohio-based digital marketing agency Resource / Ammirati, one of these people said. Kramer’s company was acquired by IBM in 2016.
Fischer’s Columbus Partnership is a corporate advocacy group for the city of Columbus and downtown Ohio. Fischer was also publicly credited with helping keep the MLS soccer team, the Columbus Crew, in town when they were considering moving to Texas.
Kvamme and Fischer told CNBC they are not interested in joining the senate, even though they have been approached. Kramer, who is currently with IBM iX in Columbus, did not return a request for comment.
“Yes, some people have called me. I am flattered,” Kvamme told CNBC. “Maybe someday I’ll get into the political arena, but I’d better show my friends in California that Ohio and the Midwest are the next great place to start and build technology companies.”
Fischer, who was once Deputy Governor of Tennessee before moving to Ohio, said that despite discussions in political circles, he is not interested in running.
“No, I am not considering private or otherwise positioning. Obviously, there is a lot of discussion in political circles,” Fischer told CNBC. “In my conversations, there has been an increased frustration with the overall political environment, the inability to solve problems and work together between political parties to work together. There is also a desire for business leaders to be more actively involved,” he added. .
On the Democratic side, Axios reported that Amy Acton, the former Ohio Department of Health director, could also be in the mix. Former Columbus mayor Mike Coleman has said he is considering running. Rep. Tim Ryan, a former presidential candidate, has said he takes running “seriously”.