Portman to Announce Senate Run

January 12, 2009 12:53 PM

ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: Rob Portman, the former Ohio congressman who served for two years as director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bush, will announce later this week that he plans to run for the United States Senate seat being vacated in 2010 by retiring Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio.

Portman will announce his Senate run on Wednesday and Thursday during a media tour around Ohio which will take him to Cleveland, Toledo, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton. The theme he is planning to carry into his campaign is "we can make Ohio great again."

Portman had considered running for governor in 2010 which would have likely set up a contentious primary battle with Republican John Kasich, a former Ohio congressman who unsuccessfully sought the G.O.P.'s presidential nod in 2000. Kasich is currently under contract with the Fox News Channel.

Now that Voinovich has announced that he will not seek re-election, Portman will run for the Senate instead, making it possible for Portman and Kasich to endorse one another in their respective bids for statewide office.

Portman's national profile got a boost last year when the media frequently included him on lists of possible running mates for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.