OPINION: Sen. Portman’s departure will diminish hope for Senate bipartisanship

Photos from left to right: Rep. Tim Ryan, courtesy of U.S. House of Representatives, Mayor Nan Whaley, courtesy of Daniel E. Cleary, Amy Acton, courtesy of air force. Photos retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.

Opinion editor Charlotte Caldwell, a junior studying journalism, argues that the current candidate list for Sen. Portman’s open seat in 2022 offers marginal hope for bipartisanship and Republican moderacy in the Senate in the future.

Please note that these views and opinions do not reflect those of The New Political.

Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman announced Jan. 25 that he would not be running for re-election to a third Senate term because “it has gotten harder and harder to break through the partisan gridlock and make progress on substantive policy…” Since Portman is one of the last moderate Republicans in the Senate, the non-extremists in the party have a right to be worried, especially considering the potential candidates already battling for his open seat in 2022.

President Biden frequently predicted a big bipartisan “kumbaya” that would occur after former President Donald Trump left office, but that is becoming less likely every time a moderate Republican either leaves office or silently follows the extremists of the party.

Communications strategist Ashley Pratte wrote in a column for NBC News that “the far right has hijacked the Republican Party” and “the GOP will, at least for the foreseeable future, remain the party of Donald Trump.” This was affirmed after only seven Republican senators voted to convict Trump in the second impeachment trial – and Sen. Portman was not one of them. This hardly qualifies as a “bipartisan rebuke” as CNN claimed, and the trial was a glimpse into what at least the next two years will look like in Congress.

The potential candidate lineup for Portman’s open seat makes bipartisanship in 2022 look only slightly more promising. Only one candidate has officially announced a campaign so far, and that is former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel. Mandel, along with at least three other candidates still considering entering the race, would fight for Trump’s version of the Republican Party if elected. The Democratic Party’s potential bids include former Director of the Ohio Department of Health Amy Acton, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.

After stepping down as the state health director, Acton went back to working for the nonprofit called The Columbus Foundation. On Feb. 4, she also stepped down from this position to prepare for the possibility of a Senate campaign. Besides having high name recognition, the only other political benefit she would bring to her campaign would be that she volunteered for former President Barack Obama’s 2008 Democratic primary campaign in Ohio.

Trump’s election showed that voters no longer care about whether the candidate is a politician, but she may not stand a chance at receiving the Democratic nomination if Ryan jumps in the race, especially because of his powerful Democratic support system and political background.

Ryan has already received support from former Ohio Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and Hillary Clinton and has name recognition from his campaign during the primaries for the 2020 presidential election. He also could be considered a more moderate Democrat on issues like health care – specifically his criticisms of Medicare for All  – and the environment, on which he stated that climate change is a threat, but he does not support the Green New Deal.

Whaley is more of the outlier of the three. She has stated that she will not run for re-election as Dayton mayor, and while she’s been the mayor of Dayton since 2013, the only name recognition she would have stems from the Memorial Day tornadoes and the 2019 shooting in the Oregon District. Her move away from mayor seems to be more focused on a bid for governor in 2022 since she already had a brief stint in the previous 2018 governor race. Given her qualifications, however, she may be better suited for a Senate campaign first.

Even if many of these candidates have not announced an official campaign, the current lineup will make for a nerve-wracking race. It seems that the winner of this election in 2022 will partially determine how quickly and smoothly the Senate will be able to pass legislation in the future. One thing is for sure: given the current events, the country will be watching this race closely.