Sen. Rob Portman, who was in the conversation as a possible vice presidential pick for 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, said he’s being encouraged to make a run of his own in 2016.
Mr. Portman, while not typically mentioned among the frontrunners in a wide-open 2016 GOP presidential field, visited New Hampshire Wednesday to campaign for Senate candidate Scott Brown and traveled to Iowa earlier this month to campaign for GOP state Sen. Joni Ernst in her own Senate bid, as well as meet with Gov. Terry Branstad and GOP officials.
“We wanted to make sure to help her (Ernst), and it was also just a chance to get to meet some political people there,” Mr. Portman told the AP this week. “And so it was a whirlwind tour.”
Mr. Portman, who served as former President George W. Bush’s budget chief, has more campaign stops planned before Nov. 4, but said he’s going to wait until after the midterms to decide on his future plans.
“I’ve got a lot of friends who are encouraging me to run,” said Mr. Portman, who also served as Mr. Romney’s sparring partner during 2012 debate preparations. “I probably will see who else is running and what they’re talking about. But I think you ultimately make the decision based on whether you think the country would be best served by having you in that position or not.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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