Republican Ohio state Sen. Matt Dolan on Tuesday announced another campaign for U.S. Senate, becoming the first GOP candidate to declare his 2024 candidacy for the seat.
Dolan, who came in third in last year’s Republican primary for the seat now held by Sen. J.D. Vance, hopes to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who was first elected to the post in 2006.
“A lot can change in 30 years, but in that time Sherrod Brown’s blind loyalty to his party has remained the same,” Dolan wrote on Twitter. “I have a record of conservative, results-driven leadership,”
A lot can change in 30 years, but in that time Sherrod Brown’s blind loyalty to his party has remained the same. I have a record of conservative, results-driven leadership. As Ohio’s next U.S. Senator, I will place the needs of our state first. Join me. https://t.co/tIeVY8dcuS pic.twitter.com/XvcdJnKAC7
— Matt Dolan (@dolan4ohio) January 17, 2023
Dolan previously signaled that his defeat in the 2022 primary wouldn’t stop him from pursuing another run.
“This isn’t an obituary for me,” he told Politico in June.
The Ohio Republican has criticized former President Donald Trump and his efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election, including the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, which he called “a failure of leadership.”
Dolan has urged the GOP to shift its messaging.
“The midterm election showed us nationally that if the Republicans are going to put up folks that are focused on yesterday, running these campaigns of grievances, we’re going to lose,” Dolan told the USA Today Network Ohio bureau.
Following the 2022 primary, Dolan created the Ohio Matters Super PAC, which supported GOP candidates opposed to political extremism.
Dolan, a lawyer whose family owns the Cleveland Guardians, self-funded part of his previous Senate campaign, putting forward about $10 million in personal financing, according to Politico.
Ohio has undergone a political realignment in recent years, potentially representing a good pickup opportunity for the GOP. While Ohioans voted for Barack Obama as president in 2008 and 2012, they picked Trump in the next two presidential contests.
In 2020, Trump defeated Biden by 8 points in the state.
