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Jane Timken, Ohio's Republican Party Leader, Resigns

By Jo Ingles

Published February 5, 2021 at 10:32 PM EST

Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken at a City Club appearance in Cleveland on July 23, 2017 [ideastream]

The leader of the Ohio Republican Party has stepped down, a possible sign Jane Timken might be running for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2022.

Ohio GOP spokesman Evan Machan said Timken resigned Friday morning. Timken had been at the helm of the Ohio Republican Party since 2017.

“Chairman Timken decided to resign today and announce that she will be making a decision about her future plans in the coming weeks,” Machan said.

Machan would not confirm whether those “future plans” involve a bid for the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Rob Portman, who announced Jan. 25 he would not seek reelection when his current term expires.

Timken said in a statement she leaves with former President Donald Trump as the leader of the Republican Party, and that she will do all she can to advance “conservative, America First policies to strengthen Ohio.”

No candidates have officially declared candidacy in the Senate race, although Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) is widely believed to be preparing for a run and Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton announced Thursday that she would step down from her role at the Columbus Foundation in order to "carefully consider" her future plans.

On the Republican side, possible candidates other than Timken include former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, while others such as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost have already said they will not run.