Regular reporting and commentary on the interplay of race, class and power in the civic, business and cultural spaces of NEO from the inner rings of Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
Primary interests: Cleveland/NEOhio regional public affairs; African American politics, commerce, culture and society; public education; national and international affairs; Cavaliers∫Browns.
Some time last year Google, which owns this site, made some changes that suddenly made it more difficult to post content here. I could no longer simply write a story in Word, then copy and paste it here. I thought it was a settings issue before learning that many other bloggers were having the same problem.
This turned out to be a good thing for The Real Deal in some ways, as we had been dragging our feet in making the transition to our own website. But the frustrations we were having here, along with the inherent limitations of a blog, helped push us to confront and overcome an unhealthy degree of tech phobia. We essentially had to learn to navigate a platform new and a couple of wholly unfamiliar, and largely nonintuitive, programs. [Old dogs, even if slightly arthritic, can still learn new tricks when properly motivated]. But we've put in the work, and after a period of time cross-posting, we have begun to post exclusively onour new site.
That in turn has kept us so busy that we have unforgivably neglected you, our most loyal readers, whose encouragement has helped sustain us over the nearly 15 years and more than 500 posts we have posted on this site.
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Pictured is Ohio's congressional delegation as it has looked after the 2012, '14, '16, '18 and '20 elections.
Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted on Tuesday said they hope a new system of drawing congressional and state legislative districts will result in more competitive elections. But, they cautioned, the task will be far from simple.
Ohio has among the worst partisan gerrymandering, according to multipleanalyses.
Districts are typically redrawn once every 10 years to reflect population changes when new census data become available. Until now, the party in control of the Statehouse has commanded the process and, using modern technology, that party has been able to greatly advantage itself.
A 2019 analysis by the Associated Press determined that in the U.S. House, Ohio Republicans got 52% of the vote but held 75% of the seats. They also held supermajorities in the state House and Senate that exceeded the portion of votes they received at the polls, the analysis found.
A separate 2013 analysis found that Ohio Democrats were the second-most underrepresented in the U.S. House and that Republicans were overrepresented by 18 seats nationwide. The imbalance was a consequence of the fact that the GOP wiped out Democrats in statehouse races in 2010 and had control of the last redistricting process in most states.
The problems created by such a partisan skew extend beyond unbalanced party representation. It also fuels polarization and extremism.
“We’ve all read the same studies about how many of the 435 congressional districts in the country aren’t really competitive and for many of them, the greatest… perceived threat to the incumbent is a primary,” DeWine said.
Voter turnout in party primaries tends to be much lower than in general elections and is dominated by the most ardent partisans — a dynamic that can result in winning candidates with fringe views that would make them sure losers in a competitive general election.
He’s a member of her party, but comments by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Monday might indicate that even when they add to GOP numbers, highly gerrymandered districts are damaging to his party. He didn’t mention Greene by name, but his reference was clear when he said many of the “loony lies” expressed by her were “a cancer for the Republican Party.”
Gov. Mike DeWine and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan.
Closer to home, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, endorsed Greene in her bid last year to win a crowded Republican Primary so she could run unopposed in the General Election.
Lies by fringe politicians about a stolen election pose an even more direct threat to American democracy. They fueled a Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that killed five and delayed certification of the presidential election.
One of Trump’s closest allies, Jordan was reelected to his District 4 seat with nearly 70% of the vote.
There was widespread speculation that Jordan might seek the GOP nomination to fill the U.S. Senate seat held by Rob Portman, a Republican who is stepping down in 2022. Jordan later announced that he would not seek the seat.
His office didn’t respond Tuesday when asked if the congressman had calculated that he couldn’t win outside of his gerrymandered district.
DeWine wasn’t asked about Jordan, but of the scarcity of competitive congressional races he said, “Truly, it is a national problem.”
To address the issue, Ohio voters in 2018 overwhelmingly approved a system that would require bipartisan support for 10-year congressional maps. If that fails, four-year districts could be drawn with a party-line vote.
Husted, the lieutenant governor, said the new system has multiple goals, some of which may be mutually complicating.
In Ohio and elsewhere, the crazy shape of districts such as Jordan’s have been widely criticized. His zigs and zags and goes from just west of Columbus almost to the Indiana line, north almost to Toledo and east almost to Cleveland.
Techniques known as “cracking and packing” have been used to draw districts that maximize partisan numbers. But they often result in maps that don’t make much sense when it comes to representing constituent interests.
The new system is “designed to hit the goals of making the districts more compact, less gerrymandered, keeping communities of interest together,” Husted said. “We think those are positive enhancements to the system and it will ultimately lead to representation that is more consistent among those communities.”
But doing that while also drawing competitive districts has become more difficult as politics have become more polarized — especially along geographic lines, DeWine said.
“The counties that were Republican 10 years ago may be much more Republican today,” he said. “In other words, the margins have gone way up and we’ve seen the same thing with Democrat counties.”
It’s a big mistake to think the long intervals between presidential elections are not every bit as consequential as the one day when we officially reject or retain an incumbent or elect a new president.
This should be clear if we understand politics to be how people living in groups make decisions so that they can live together as a community, as a state, as a nation.
In fact, if we consider January 2021 alone, it looks like there are no off months in politics, let alone off years.
The January 6th insurrection in our nation’s capital, incited by a sitting president, supported by a loose but extensive network that included police officers, military veterans, public officials, white supremacists — and which is being defended, excused or downplayed by 90% of a major party’s political leadership — was a transformational political event that will affect our nation for at least the next two generations. If ordinary citizens do not find effective ways to respond to this assault on our system, it will sooner or later become the norm. [Just yesterday, the military in Myanmar took over in a coup, claiming the recent election, in which 83% of the popular vote went against them, was fraudulent. Where might they have found a role model?
Two days earlier and closer to home, Gov. Mike DeWine signed “Stand Your Ground” legislation into Ohio law, caving into the state’s right wing legislature, and potentially turning any encounter outside your house into a lethal action.
Last week Ohio’s junior Senator, Rob Portman, made himself a lame duck, announcing that he will not run for a third term next year. Portman has been mostly MIA these past four years, fiddling with feeble calls for civility as his party and its unstable leader were setting ablaze many of the laws, institutions, traditions and protocols that make civility possible in a diverse nation of 330 million people.
(Highlighting the profiles in cravenness of Ohio’s top two Republicans reminds us to salute the stand-up vote of area GOP congressman Anthony Gonzalez, one of the fewer than five percent of his party’s House colleagues who voted to impeach Donald Trump for his incitement of insurrection.)
Getting even more local, former Cleveland city council president and state rep Marty Sweeney secured his return to public office by winning a close vote of the Democratic executive committee members to fill the vacancy on Cuyahoga County council occasioned by Dan Brady’s retirement.
By the way, even as the process by which Sweeney returns to office was publicly savaged, many political observers including several Sweeney detractors, had to acknowledge his mastery of vote-whipping, while his opponent, ward leader and Young Dems president Brandon Heil, was perhaps too busy measuring curtains for an office he had yet to secure.
Also in January, Pernel Jones and Cheryl Stephens were elected by their colleagues president and vice president of county council. It’s fair to say few if any predicted council’s top two positions would both be held by African Americans. Perhaps even more remarkable than this stunner is how few eyebrows appear to have been raised by the feat.
Mano of the folk who opposed the reorganization of county government back in 2009 would have lost their fortunes on a bet that the black people they professed to represent might attain the level of success under the new system exemplified by Jones and Stephens.
This perhaps segues into the reentry into local politics of former state senator Nina Turner.
Turner, you may recall, was vilified as a sellout back in 2009 for being just about the only black elected official who supported the reorganization of county government.
Now, by virtue of her policy chops, celebrity, and fundraising prowess, she is the frontrunner to win the Democratic primary in the expected soon to be announced special election to succeed Marcia Fudge.
And that’s not even half of the area’s January politics.
Shirley Smith, Turner’s former state senate colleague, also declared her entry into the race last month, joining county councilwoman Shontel Brown and former Cleveland councilman Jeff Johnson.
Meanwhile, civic activist Justin Bibb heads a list of candidates who declared their candidacies for local offices. Bibb, 33, has an impressive set of career credentials to accompany a sterling academic resume and a policy nerdiness. He’s put together a tight political organization and raised over $200,000, more than enough to establish himself as a serious, credible candidate for Cleveland mayor.
Elsewhere, attorney and ward leader Rebecca Maurer announced her plans to run for council from her base in Slavic Village. In Cleveland Heights, Kahlil Seren tossed his hat into the ring to be Cleveland Heights’ first elected mayor since that suburb abolished its city manager structure.
It’s contests like these that trickle upward to build a base that can support political and social change or entrench the status quo. The choice is up to us.
We have written several pieces about Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, which for fifty years has been centered in Cleveland’s black community. Its political, social, and cultural importance is undeniable. But knowledgeable people tell us that turnout for the upcoming special election is likely to be around 25,000 voters. In a crowded field, the primary winner and likely next successor to Marcia Fudge could garner fewer than 7,500 votes.
If ever there was opportunity to make your voice heard, this would seem to be the time. The new technologies and platforms prospering under social media in the COVID era have made it easier than ever to educate yourself on the issues and the candidates. Just last week I sat in on a “meet and greet coffee klatch” from the comfort of my desk and listened to a candidate in Cleveland’s Larchmere neighborhood engage with three dozen or so voters from all around town.
Now is the time to engage your family, neighbors, and friends and networks; and turn out the vote. Stacey Abrams lives in Georgia. She isn’t coming to Cleveland to do what we should do for ourselves.
Can I get an amen?
• • •• • •
This post first appeared at The Real Deal Press. Click here to see the original post.
Will we still be the UNITED States of America after the threat of COVID 19 has passed? We have not seemed UNITED when centuries of social neglect have caused African Americans to die from COVID 19 at a rate that greatly exceeds our percentage of the national population. It is disheartening to discover that in my hometown of Chicago, African Americans are about 32% of the population, but they account for 72% of the deaths associated with COVID 19. That same pattern appears in states across the country. Jocelyn Wilder, a doctoral student at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, noted in the Chicago Tribune that we should “attribute the difference in mortality and infection rates to socioeconomic factors that preceded the epidemic.”1
We do not seem UNITED when higher rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, asthma, and heart disease make African Americans more susceptible to being impacted by and dying from this virus. Living in poverty, not having access to affordable health care, not having access to fresh meats and vegetables, and being reliant on public transportation that makes social distancing impossible are major contributors to these higher rates of infection and death. In Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reports that “food and pharmacy deserts are concentrated on the South side (where I was born and raised), and eight of the ten ZIP codes with the highest percentage of people without cars are on the South and West sides (which are largely African American communities). 2
We do not seem UNITED when this nation’s centuries-long history of racism has resulted in overcrowded housing, low-paying jobs, limited access to preventive health care, and an economic position that forces too many African Americans to use emergency room services as their primary source of medical care. We get sicker more easily because of these pre-existing and underlying conditions referred to as co-morbidity. We may die from COVID 19, but we were made more vulnerable to the effects of the virus because of so many existing health problems that allowed the disease to take hold of our bodies with more deadly results.
We do not seem UNITED when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said during one of his daily news briefings about the impact of COVID 19 in his state, ”It always seems that the poorest people end up paying the highest price. Why is that?”3
Why, indeed? This is the richest nation on earth in terms of economic capacity, technological capacity, medical research and resources capacity, higher education capacity, and military capacity. Nevertheless, we remain a nation deeply divided along lines of race, region, religion, and especially along lines of resources. Poverty is one of the great evils gripping our nation despite its great wealth. Like a scene out of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, it is the best of times for some Americans and the worst of times for others.
One last problem has arisen that further divides us as a nation, and that is the rate at which African Americans are agreeing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Bad enough that we are more susceptible to this virus resulting in increased rate of infection, hospitalization, and mortality. Worse than all that is the unwillingness of some people to protect themselves from a virus that has painted a bullseye on our back. White Americans are being vaccinated at twice the rate of African Americans even though we are twice as likely to contract COVID-19.
Some persons may harbor suspicions about the safety of the vaccine or the speed with which it was developed. Some people may not trust a medical/research system that conducted the Tuskegee Experiment from 1932-1972 when 400 African American men who had syphilis went untreated so scientists could document the terrible effects of that disease on their bodies. The difference is that the Tuskegee Experiment was about medical help that was being denied to black bodies. Refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is about medicines that black people are denying to themselves.In more ways than one, our Union is a victim of COVID-19, and there is a lot of blame to go around.
______
1. Nausheen Husain and Cecelia Reyes, “As Chicago blacks die from COVID 19, communities of color knew recovery from COVID 19 would be slow”, ChicagoTribune.com, April 21, 2000.
2. Nausheen Husain and Cecelia Reyes, Chicago Tribune.
3. Cuomo vows to investigate racial disparities in COVID-19 deaths: “Why do the poorest people always pay the highest price?”, TheHill.com, April 8, 2020.
The Rev. Marvin A. McMickle, pastor emeritus of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, retired in 2019 as president of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York, where he had served since 2011.
Catch a live stream performance of the Gaetano Jazz Quintet this Sunday on the BOP STOP’s Facebook page.
Gaetano’s Jazz Quintet Live Stream at BOP STOP – January 31
Gaetano’s Jazz Quintet, consisting of Bill Ransom (Drums); Theron Brown (Hammond D3); Bob Esterle (Saxes); Matt DeRubertis (Bass); and Gaetano (Tom) Letizia (Guitar) will perform a live streamed concert Sunday, January 31 from The BOP STOP at the Music Settlement.The concert, which offers listeners a preview of the upcoming nine-song CD “Chartreuse,” will be accessible on the BOP STOP’s Facebook page at 7PM.Free, but donations encouraged.
The Politics of Sound in Cleveland Museum of Art dialogue series – February 3
Nwaka Onwusa
On Wednesday, February 3 at noon, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Manager of Collection and Exhibition Programs Andrew Cappetta, and the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame’s vice president of curatorial affairs and chief curator Nwaka Onwusa team up for a virtual discussion on the power of music and artists who have harnessed word and sound to fight for social justice and racial equality. Register for this free event on Eventbrite.The Museum’s Desktop Dialogue series takes place every first and third Wednesday of the month.
The monthly Twelve Literary Arts, Inc. poetry event, One Mic Open, takes place Thursday, February 4 at 5:30PM via Zoom.
Inspired by Amanda Gorman? Twelve Literary Arts offers open mic opportunity– February 4
Nearing its sixth anniversary, the Twelve Literary Arts One Mic Open series continues virtually on Thursday, February 4 at 5:30PM via Zoom.Please register. Sign-up runs from 5:30-6PM.Artists of all ages and mediums are welcome to attend and participate. One Open Mic takes place the first Thursday of each month. For more information about the event, please contact Youth Program Coordinator Eric Odum.
Local black journalists present ‘Love Letters’ in fundraiser – February 13
The Greater Cleveland Association of Black Journalists (GCLEABJ) presents a virtual production of "Love Letters," A.R. Gurney’s Pulitzer Prize nominated play on Saturday, February 13 at 7PM via Zoom. Suggested donation: $8. Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite. A silent auction will take place during intermission. Directed by, and starring Emmy Award-Winning TV Anchor Leon Bibb, and Talk Show Host, Minister and Motivational Speaker Sandra Bishop. Proceeds will support the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Annual Convention which will be held in Cleveland in 2025.
Comedian Michael Colyar comes to the Cleveland Improv February 4-6.
Michael Colyar at Cleveland Improv - February 4-6
Affectionately known as the King of Venice Beach, comedian/actor Michael Colyar comes to the Cleveland Improv for four shows Friday, February 4 through Sunday, February 6.Tickets are $20. Colyar can also be seen on Amazon Prime’s “The Rich and The Ruthless”, portraying the character Willie Turner. This soapy drama, returning for Season 4 this year, was created by Victoria Rowell, who many fans of “The Young and the Restless” will remember as the feisty Drucilla Winters.
Is there an upcoming event you’d like included in this column? Please send the details, along with a high-resolution photo/graphic, tonorthcoastnotes@therealdealpress.comat least two weeks prior to the event.
As COVID-19 vaccine distribution slowly but surely continues in the state, minority populations still represent a small percentage of those that have received the vaccine, and officials and advocates say more strides toward minority equity and access need to happen.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine hasn’t wavered in recent messages that vaccine doses coming to the state are scarce.
“We know there’s not enough,” DeWine said again on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, state data showed 5.62% of the state’s population, or more than 656,000 people, had “started the vaccine,” meaning they have received at least the first dose of the two-dose vaccine. Statewide, 4.63% of white Ohioans have received at least their first dose. The Black population only represents 2.07% of those who’ve begun vaccination.
A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis showed, as of Jan. 19, the demographic distribution for vaccines was 82% white and 6% Black.
Some data is missing from the analysis, with 19% of the vaccination distribution showing “unknown race” and 24% showing “unknown ethnicity.” A spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Health said the race and ethnicity data is voluntarily filled in by the person receiving the vaccine, so the department does not control whether that data is completed.
The absence of or small amount of data showing people of color receiving the vaccine — though reporting of vaccine distribution is still in its early stages — could stem from a continuing distrust by the Black community and people of color of vaccines and the government’s implementation of public health.
“We’re still monitoring the data, but the the fact of the matter is that our health care system is not set up to serve Black Americans well,” said Hope Lane, policy associate at Ohio-based think tank Center for Community Solutions.
Lane said the Tuskegee Experiment, in which Black participants were intentionally not treated for syphilis, and the experiments conducted on Black women in the early days of gynecology are “not so distant history,” and a shortage in doctors and pharmacists of color doesn’t help the hesitancy some have in receiving treatment or vaccines.
That situation combines with a lack of forethought in the plans for vaccine distribution, according to Lane.
“There are drive-up sites, but when you don’t have a car you can’t drive-up,” Lane said. “There’s just things like that are part of the lack of access.”
Even statewide distribution of the vaccine to pharmacies does not equal access in some areas.
“Putting it just in pharmacies doesn’t work in communities like Dayton, because we have food deserts and prescription deserts in our African-American communities,” said Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley on Tuesday.
Whaley was a part of a press conference to push for a new COVID-19 funding plan put together by President Joe Biden, but said strategies around getting the vaccine into minority communities must occur on the local, state and federal level to work.
That includes bringing the vaccine to places where the communities gather, like churches. Of the 800 vaccines Public Health of Dayton & Montgomery County received recently, 200 of those were placed at St. Margaret’s Church in west Dayton, according to Whaley.
“So (the vaccine) would be in a place that is trusted in our community, connected to our community, for the African-American community,” Whaley said.
Carol Smith, a retired nurse from the Ohio State Penitentiary emphasized the need for education and outreach in order to get past the fears that are present because of the history of the country’s health care system.
“We must acknowledge the concerns and acknowledge that these concerns are legitimate,” Smith said during the press conference. “Here comes the paramount role of education to those around us, who need encouragement and the knowledge to educate themselves and others.”
DeWine has said the state government will begin some “communication and education strategies aimed at minority communities,” such as town halls, marketing campaigns, and a “tool kit” for community partners to address vaccine hesitancy.
On Tuesday he mentioned partnerships with churches as another way to “make sure we’re covering everyone in the state of Ohio.”
“It’s an ongoing effort,” DeWine said. “We’re not there yet, but it is what we’re going to strive for, what we’re going to continue to strive for.”
The efforts will begin Feb. 8, DeWine said, aligning with the week vaccines are scheduled to be distributed to Ohioans aged 65 and older. That week, vaccines will be taken directly to “affordable senior housing” facilities, where DeWine said the threat of serious illness is high because of the age of the residents and “potential barriers to accessing the vaccine.”
For years, Portman navigated the shifting political climate. Now he wants out.
By Tyler Buchanan
Sen. Rob Portman, R-OH
Rob Portman of Ohio will not be seeking reelection to the U.S. Senate, with the Cincinnati Republican citing increased polarization in American politics as a reason to not campaign for a third term
The surprise announcement on Monday morning set off an early-week scramble for politicians of both parties to consider a run at the open seat in 2022.
In a statement, Portman said he intends to use his final two years in the U.S. Senate to “get a lot done,” pledging to work with the newly-inaugurated Biden administration on the COVID-19 pandemic response and other legislative priorities.
“I feel fortunate to have been entrusted by the people of Ohio to represent them in the US Senate,” Portman said in a statement, calling it “an honor” to have served the Buckeye State.
The departure will cap off a decades-long career in public service for Portman, 65, a moderate in both policy and style who has navigated a rightward shift within the Republican Party in recent years.
An ‘increasingly polarized country’
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH). Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.
Portman said Monday that “it has gotten harder and harder to break through the partisan gridlock and make progress on substantive policy, and that has contributed to my decision.”
He called America “an increasingly polarized country” with both parties being pushed toward ideological extremes, making this “a tough time to be in public service.”
“This is not a new phenomenon, of course, but a problem that has gotten worse over the past few decades,” his statement added.
It is certainly a much different political climate than when Portman first entered politics more than four decades ago. As a student of Dartmouth College, Portman interned for Cincinnati Congressman Bill Gradison.
He would return to New Hampshire in 1980 to work on the presidential campaign of George H. W. Bush, sparking a close relationship with the Bush family that continued in the years that followed.
Portman went on to study law and Bush won the presidency in 1988. He hired Portman to serve as an associate White House counsel and later as a liaison to Congress.
When Gradison resigned from his seat in 1993, Portman defeated a number of Republicans in a special election primary. He then proved his financial prowess in his first general election, raising 16-times as much as his Democratic opponent to win the seat.
Portman developed a reputation as an amicable policy wonk who could be a great asset for Republican campaigns. He once again helped out the Bushes by becoming a surrogate and fundraiser for George W. Bush’s presidential run in 2000. One Cincinnati event organized by Portman brought in $1 million for the Bush campaign.
The Ohioan made a name for himself as an expert debate prepper. Starting in 2000, Portman portrayed Democratic politicians in mock debates for four straight presidential cycles.
He was the “stand-in” for Joe Lieberman against vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney that first year, also assisting New York Republican Rick Lazio by portraying Hillary Clinton during a 2000 election for U.S. Senate.
Portman would go on to play John Edwards against Bush in 2004 and Barack Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, sparring against John McCain and Mitt Romney.
Portman’s coveted debate work was a combination of studious preparation, political knowhow and an innate acting ability, The Guardian quoted a McCain advisor as saying in 2012.
He remained a loyal ally to the Bush administration while in Congress. In 2005, Bush appointed him to serve as U.S. trade representative and later named him director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Portman stepped down as budget chief in mid-2007. He had been commuting home on weekends for over a decade — since being first elected to Congress — and expressed a desire to head back to Ohio. In leaving Washington, Portman did not rule out a future run for governor or senator.
“There’s no finer man in public service than Rob Portman,” President Bush said upon his departure.
Back to Ohio, then back to D.C.
Returning to Ohio, Portman learned to toe the line between a political center and the more hardline elements of his party.
In February 2008, Portman was invited to speak at a Cincinnati rally for McCain’s campaign. Preceding him on stage was conservative radio host Bill Cunningham, who referred to Obama as a “hack” and made disparaging comments about former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s looks.
Cunningham even invoked Portman and his wife Jane’s names in making a crude joke about the homosexuality of Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank.
“Willie,” Portman said in taking the mic, “you’re out of control again. So, what else is new? But we love him. But I’ve got to tell you, Bill Cunningham lending his voice to this campaign is extremely important.”
After the event, McCain denounced Cunningham’s comments and apologized for them. Portman told reporters: “I was backstage so I didn’t hear everything (Cunningham) said.”
Portman jumped back into electoral politics in 2010 in announcing a run for U.S. Senate.
An election cycle centered on outsider politics and the Tea Party movement could have proven to be a challenge for a former Bush appointee. Instead, he benefited from there being a Democratic senate primary; a weakened Ohio economy putting pressure on his eventual opponent, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher; and the Portman trademark of prolific fundraising.
Portman raised more than $13 million for the race and cruised to a comfortable victory in a fortuitous election year for Ohio Republicans. The party took back the governor’s seat and rising stars such as Jon Husted and Josh Mandel were elected to their first statewide offices.
Portman outperformed them all, winning the highest percentage and largest total of votes.
From possible Romney VP to Trump supporter
Early in his first term, Portman was vetted for the vice presidential slot on Mitt Romney’s 2012 ticket.
Portman’s biggest strength — experience — also proved to be a hindrance. The Romney campaign was skeptical about choosing someone with close connections to the George W. Bush administration.
It was believed Portman could help the ticket carry Ohio, but the Romney camp found little evidence to back up that conclusion. In February 2012, a Quinnipiac University survey of Ohio voters found that President Obama polled slightly ahead of Romney. The poll also asked how Ohioans would vote if Portman was named as Romney’s VP pick — Obama actually gained a percentage point.
Romney ended up going in a different direction.
In 2013, Portman made headlines for becoming the first sitting GOP senator to endorse the legalization of same-sex marriage. He said this support followed his son coming out as gay two years before.
More a workhorse than showhorse in D.C., Portman primarily stayed out of the spotlight during Obama’s two terms. A Quinnipiac Poll from May 2016 found that 42% of registered voters in Ohio said they didn’t know enough about Portman to form an opinion about him.
That was after he had already served a dozen years in the U.S. House of Representatives, two years in the Bush administration and five years as a U.S. Senator.
Ohio U.S. Sen. Rob Portman with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.
During the Republican presidential primary, Portman first chose to endorse fellow Ohioan John Kasich. He later backed Trump for the general election before rescinding his support after an Access Hollywood tape was published showing Trump in 2005 boasting of grabbing women’s genitals without their consent. Portman said he would vote for vice presidential candidate Mike Pence instead.
Portman is often ranked as one of the most bipartisan senators, in that he frequently co-sponsors bills that are sponsored by Democratic lawmakers. It is also true that Portman became a reliable vote in favor of Trump’s policies as president.
An analysis from the website FiveThirtyEight found that Portman voted in line with Trump’s positions 88% of the time — a higher amount than other Trump allies such as Tom Cotton and Lindsey Graham. It is nearly the identical voting record percentage as Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, who is considered one of Trump’s top supporters on Capitol Hill.
Portman voted in favor of the Trump tax cuts and sought a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, though he broke with the president in not wanting a repeal without a replacement in place. He voted for Trump’s cabinet members and the Supreme Court nominations of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
The latter vote was in contrast to Portman’s own legislative precedent he outlined in 2016. When a Supreme Court seat opened up in February of that year, Portman advocated for waiting to confirm a replacement in order to allow “the American people to weigh in on who should make a lifetime appointment that could reshape the Supreme Court for generations.”
When Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died six weeks before the 2020 election, Portman reversed course and urged the Republican-led Senate to confirm Barrett.
Portman avoided criticizing the president and dodged questions related to Trump’s conduct, telling reporters he was unfamiliar with the controversies in question. In one exchange, he evaded questioning by saying he was late for lunch.
The president’s Access Hollywood tape all but forgotten, Portman served as a co-chair for Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign and was named a co-captain of its Victory Finance Committee. He joined the president’s daughter for a MAGA rally in Youngstown a week before Election Day.
Nevertheless, Portman was one of the first Republicans in Congress to acknowledge Biden’s victory as being legitimate. He did not object to Biden’s presidential electors as several other Ohio Republicans did and has stated there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Who will run for the open seat?
There is a long list of Democratic and Republican names already identified as potential candidates for the seat.
For Republicans, this announcement provides a newfound opportunity for those who were not otherwise planning to run in a contested primary for the seat. Among those who have already expressed interest or are rumored to be eyeing a campaign include Lt. Gov. Jon Husted; former state treasurer Josh Mandel; Rep. Jordan; Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta; Attorney General Dave Yost; former Rep. Jim Renacci; and others.
Ohio Democrats had created a “Defeat Rob Portman Fund” following the Justice Barrett nomination fight and now have a much different path to winning the seat. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, tweeted Monday he was “looking seriously” at running, with other possible candidates including Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley; Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes of Akron; Dr. Vin Gupta of the Toledo area, and others.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) said Monday he was “looking seriously” at running for U.S. Senate in 2022.
Some 2022 election ratings predicted Ohio would not be competitive with Portman on the ballot. Kyle Kondik, a political analyst for the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, believed a Portman race in 2022 would be “potentially competitive” but was likely to lean in the incumbent’s favor.
Kondik tweeted Monday the race remains favored toward the Republican Party, but the shake-up provides an opening to Democrats “under (the) right circumstances.”
Still two years remaining in term
As the dust settles from Portman’s announcement, it remains to be seen how the Republican will approach his final two years in office now that he is unencumbered by any electoral considerations.
Such is the major question, said David Niven, an associate professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati who is a former Democratic Party speechwriter.
Niven outlined two models for how the next two years could go for Portman: Jeff Flake and Lamar Alexander.
Flake, an Arizona Republican, was a vocal Trump critic and frequently spoke his mind after announcing he would not run for reelection in 2018. (Trump responded in kind, and Flake was recently censured by the Arizona Republican Party.)
Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, decided in 2018 not to run for reelection for the 2020 cycle and remained a Trump ally for the rest of his term.
Niven said the next two years will give a clear sense of Portman’s true political leanings without another race in front of him.
The first major test could be the upcoming impeachment trial. While other Republicans in the senate have condemned the impeachment effort — Marco Rubio of Florida called it “stupid”— Portman has adopted a more tempered, open-minded approach.
Portman has said Trump “bears some responsibility for what occurred” during the Jan. 6 insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol. In that statement, he said about an impeachment trial: “I will do my duty as a juror and listen to the cases presented by both sides.”
Portman, familiar with the delicate negotiation process between the White House and Capitol Hill from his time with the first Bush administration, may play an important role with the current U.S. Senate’s relationship with President Biden.
“In these next two years, I will continue to be actively engaged,” Portman said in his Monday statement, “doing my best to provide hope as we try to get through the devastating coronavirus pandemic and doing my best to help bring our great country together, to help us heal, so we address the many challenges we face together.”
