Since the announced retirement of Republican Sen. Rob Portman, a plethora of individuals have announced their candidacy to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate. Amongst these candidates are Josh Mandel, Jane Timkin, J.D. Vance, Bernie Moreno, Mike Gibbons and recently added to this list is State Sen. Matt Dolan. On September 20, Matt announced he was running by saying, “After meeting with Republicans, conservative activists and community leaders across Ohio in recent weeks, it’s clear that the focus of the race for U.S. Senate has yet to be about our people, our interests, and our beloved state.” 

Dolan is no stranger to politics, having represented the 24th Senate district of Ohio since 2017, which spans the outer suburbs of Cleveland. As the Chair of the Finance Committee, he is one of the most influential Senators within the chamber. He served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 2005 to 2010 for Ohio’s 98th district. Larry Dolan, Matt’s father, has owned the Cleveland Indians (now the Cleveland Guardians) for over 20 years. His family is the namesake of the Dolan Center for Science and Technology and Dolan Hall here at John Carroll University. 

Sen. Dolan has spent the summer on a “listening tour” throughout the state. His announcement prompted former President Donald Trump to release a statement regarding Dolan. In this statement, he said, “I know of at least one person in the race who I won’t be endorsing.” Trump’s criticism  creates distance between Dolan and the rest of the Republican candidates. Instead of pushing for the support of the former President, Dolan is taking an unconventional path amongst Republicans and not relying on the endorsement from Trump.  

Dolan faces an uphill battle to win the nomination for the U.S. Senate. With Josh Mandel and J.D. Vance leading in the polls, Dolan has some ground to cover. However, it is still early in the election cycle and polls often shift to favor different candidates. He is the only candidate running that is currently holding office, and only one other candidate, former State Treasurer Josh Mandel, has held office before. Fortunately for Dolan, he has until May of 2022 to convince Ohio voters he is the best candidate to go up against the presumptive Democratic nominee, U.S. Rep.Tim Ryan, for the U.S. Senate seat.