Trump Acolyte Josh Mandel Secures GOP Candidacy For Ohio Senate Race

Josh Mandel Image by courtesy of josh mandel

By Nathan Guttman May 19, 2017

The 2018 mid-term elections may be far away, but in Ohio’s Senate race, one Jewish Republican candidate is already moving forward.

Josh Mandel, the state treasurer who failed in his 2012 Senate bid, has all but secured his place as his party’s candidate for the seat in 2018. Mandel’s main potential challenger in the Republican primary race, Pat Tiberi, announced this week that he will not run for Senate and will, instead, seek reelection for the House of Representatives, where he’s been serving since 2001. Tiberi is close to Ohio governor John Kasich and refused to endorse Donald Trump.

Mandel, on the other hand, has borrowed themes from Trump’s campaign and has already promised to “drain the swamp” and complained against the “rigged” politics of Washington.

A former Marine who served in Iraq, Mandel is supported by Jewish Republicans across the country. He is aiming to unseat Senator Sherrod Brown, a progressive Democrat who was considered as possible running mate for Hillary Clinton.

Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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