Jim Jordan won’t run for Ohio US Senate seat in 2022

Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican and a fierce Trump defender, won’t run for the US Senate next year to fill the seat of the retiring GOP Sen. Rob Portman, according to a spokesperson for his congressional campaign.

Jordan will instead run for reelection for his US House seat, the spokesperson said.

Jordan’s decision leaves what is expected to be a very crowded field of GOP candidates for the primary next year without a clear front-runner. Just some of the possible Republican candidates include J.D. Vance, the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” and Josh Mandel, who dropped out of the 2018 GOP primary race to challenge Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is also seriously eying a Senate bid, along with at least four other Republican members of Congress: Reps. Steve Stivers, Brad Wenstrup, Mike Turner and Warren Davidson.

While it was early in the race and no one candidate was positioned to consolidate Republican voters, Jordan’s high-profile as a prominent Trump ally put him as among the most visible GOP candidates.

Portman announced on Monday he would not seek reelection, dealing a blow to Republicans who face a daunting 2022 Senate map and other key retirements in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Rep. Tim Ryan is among the Democrats ruminating a run for Portman’s seat.

This story is breaking and will be updated.