Just friends or official endorsement? Lines can be blurry in Ohio Senate race

Jun. 19—A photo on U.S. Senate candidate Jane Timken's campaign website meaning to illustrate her tight relationship with Donald Trump caused a minor kerfuffle Friday when people close to the former president thought it falsely implied his endorsement, according to reports.

Mr. Trump hasn't made an endorsement in Ohio's Republican U.S. Senate primary, but the potential for his backing is animating the race in a state he won twice by eight‑point margins.

Each candidate jockeying for his endorsement has a foot in Mr. Trump's world — and some are pushing the envelope when it comes to touting their relationship with a figure who some still see as a kingmaker in GOP circles.

Ms. Timken is the state's former GOP chairman and was picked by Mr. Trump to lead the party here after the 2016 election; former Ohio treasurer Josh Mandel says he was the first statewide GOP official to back Mr. Trump; investment banker Mike Gibbons was a Trump campaign co‑chair; and luxury car dealer Bernie Moreno hired his former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway as an adviser.

Mr. Trump's one‑time allies are also working on the governor's race. Brad Parscale, another former Trump campaign manager, is advising Republican Jim Renacci's bid against Gov. Mike DeWine, who Mr. Trump once suggested should face a primary opponent.

On Friday morning, a Politico reporter tweeted that Mr. Trump's aides weren't happy that Ms. Timken featured a photo of her and Mr. Trump on her endorsements page, appearing to imply — though it wasn't stated — that she was Mr. Trump's pick.

An hour or so later, the photo was swapped out for one of her and her husband, Tim Timken, whose family name is attached to a well‑known northeast Ohio manufacturing company.

"There are lots of pictures on Jane's website of her and President Trump because she's been with him often over the last five years doing more than anyone else in Ohio to secure his reelection and fight for his America First agenda," Timken spokesman Mandi Merritt said in a statement.

"No amount of whining from her opponents will change the fact that while they sat at home or quit the tough fights, Jane was out on the trail putting 150,000 miles on her car standing in the trenches for President Trump. The page was very clear in listing out Jane's public endorsements from more than 125+ grassroots conservative leaders, swamping the weak support for other fake MAGA candidates and past quitters in the race."

Ms. Timken's campaign also flagged a mailer from Mr. Mandel's team that read "President Trump is counting on us," which they argue improperly implies an endorsement from Mr. Trump. Mr. Mandel's campaign declined to comment.

Internal polling from both Mr. Mandel's and Ms. Timken's campaign show them as the front-runners, with Mr. Mandel several points ahead.

Other candidates in the race seized on the episode to advance their own agendas.

"I can't imagine this fake news claim about Donald J Trump will remain up much longer," tweeted Mr. Moreno, who NBC News reported had called Mr. Trump a "lunatic" in the past despite now running a pro‑Trump lane.

The move comes a week ahead of Mr. Trump's first Ohio rally since the 2020 election. The event in Wellington, Ohio, is for U.S. House candidate Max Miller, who's running in a primary against Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump in January.

It's not clear yet how, or if, the Senate candidates are going to be involved with the June 26 rally. But they may try to stake their claim to Mr. Trump regardless of whether they're playing an officially sanctioned role in the event. Ms. Timken's campaign said she will be in attendance.

"Awesome that President Trump is coming back to Ohio and pumped to be there on June 26th!" Mr. Mandel tweeted.

In March a backroom meeting between the four declared Senate candidates at Mr. Trump's Florida golf club turned into a scene out of The Hunger Games, Politico reported at the time. Several sources have described the meeting as an effort to keep Mr. Trump from endorsing Ms. Timken far ahead of the primary.

"My personal opinion would be that we don't see that until January, February, March of next year, when the field has slimmed down and get to who the base is finding most popular," said Shannon Burns, chairman of the Strongsville GOP in Mr. Gonzalez's district, who recently hosted a GOP summit with Mr. Gonzalez's challengers.

Ms. Timken's campaign announced this week that she named campaign chairs in all 88 Ohio counties, many of whom were party leaders, central committee members, and elected officials, demonstrating her organizing reach in the party establishment.

First Published June 18, 2021, 3:43pm