EXCLUSIVE: Is Ohio GOP Senate Candidate Jane Timken Dropping Out Amid Low Polling?
Speculation is mounting across the Buckeye State that Ohio’s ex-party GOP chair, Jane Timken, could drop out or switch races, seeing a limited path to victory. The reports of a campaign in turmoil surfaced after Timken has failed to gain traction despite massive spending on TV ads and 100+ endorsements from the Kasich-DeWine Ohio GOP Establishment.
After a heavily hyped rollout to her campaign, Jane Timken’s campaign has hit something of a prolonged rough patch.
The Remington Research Group, one of the only firms to predict President Trump’s 2016 victory, recently released a new poll showing Ohio’s America First Senate candidate, Josh Mandel, maintaining his nearly 20 point lead on the large primary field. The poll interviewed over 1,000 Ohioans and has margin of error at +/- 3.
Mandel, Timken, Gibbons and Moreno have officially entered the GOP primary for this race.
Vance and Dolan have launched exploratory committees, and longtime Dayton-area Congressman Mike Turner is reportedly also considering a run.
Former Ohio State Treasurer and tea party darling, Josh Mandel along with the establishment former state party chair, Jane Timken, are widely considered to be the front-runners to replace retiring incumbent Senator Rob Portman.
Timken, the former chairwoman of the Ohio Republican Party and long-time supporter of Mike DeWine and John Kasich, has been spending campaign funds on TV ads at a rapid pace to build up name-id and overcome massive polling splits between the current front-runner, Josh Mandel.
However, despite the large amount of spending and a personal loan of $1 million from the Timken fortune, a series of well-documented flubs and negative press has already put the once highly-touted candidate Jane Timken at odds with the state’s increasingly red Republican base.
While speaking to a Columbus-area GOP group, Timken failed to address the concerns surrounding the unpopular incumbent Governor Mike DeWine. The video was shared across social media and Twitter receiving thousands of views.
A Trump Presidential Appointee, Nick Adams, blasted the candidate as a “RINO” imploring Ohioans to not “elect another John Kasich” in reference to Jane Timken.
With Timken’s inability to capture the Ohio GOP base’s imagination and support, many political insiders across the state are questioning whether Timken should or will remain in the crowded race for Senate.
Timken is known for being a wealthy socialite, married to one of Ohio’s wealthiest and most established families, The Timken Steel Family. Breitbart News published an article in March 2021 exposing the company for outsourcing thousands of American jobs to China over the last few decades.
“She’s Kelly Loeffler 2.0,” one Ohio political insider who spoke on condition of anonymity informed the Patriots Gazette.
Which leads us to our next question: Is Jane Timken considering dropping out of the US Senate race? Would she consider running for Congress instead?
We reached out to the Timken Campaign to ask for a statement on a number of questions and issues to help inform the voters of Ohio about where Timken stands on criticisms and rumors surrounding her sputtering campaign.
There have been discussions in GOP groups across the state that Timken may be re-evaluating whether her campaign has a path to victory moving forward given the struggling poll numbers and crowded primary field, is there any truth to this?
Reports surfaced from Breitbart News in March that claimed Jane Timken's husband's company, the Timken Steel Company, has been outsourcing jobs from Ohio to China throughout the last 2 decades. Does Timken have a legitimate claim to be an 'America First' candidate when her own namesake company has been responsible for outsourcing US jobs to China?
Ohio political insiders alleged to the Gazette that the Timken Campaign was considering switching paths to run for Congress in Ohio's 7th District currently represented by the 66 year old Bob Gibbs. Is there any validity to these claims?
Given the recently released polling numbers released by the Remington Research Group, with Mandel continuing to lead the field by a nearly 20 point margin, does the Timken Campaign have any plans to shift messaging or campaign strategy moving forward to capture the attention of Ohio voters?
Her campaign’s statement in response to our questions was far from informative:
“According to recent polling, Jane Timken's support has grown 4x since entering the race for U.S. Senate in February showing the momentum is clearly on her side. Jane is the only candidate gaining ground with Republican voters across the state while other candidates flatline - or even decline because their phony record doesn't stick. Jane is the only true America First candidate in this race that doesn’t have to try and overcompensate for a record of sitting on the sidelines during the Trump Presidency because she was actually in the trenches fighting for President Trump and delivered him Ohio in 2020. Jane will continue to crisscross Ohio talking to voters about her true America First record that is resonating with Ohioans.” - Mandi Merritt, Timken Spokeswoman
So while it appears the people of Ohio won’t get any answers regarding Timken’s husband shipping Ohio jobs to China, she does intend to stay in the 2022 GOP Senate Race…for now.
Tom Morgan is the Editor-in-Chief of The Patriots Gazette, Ohio’s fastest growing online conservative media company.