Won’t seek new term, GOP senator says

CINCINNATI — Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said Monday that he won’t seek reelection in part because of how it’s gotten “harder to break through the partisan gridlock and make progress,” and he plans to end a career in federal government spanning more than three decades.

“Our country is very polarized,” Portman said, adding that former President Donald Trump did not help with the polarization. “It’s shirts and skins right now. We need to tone it down.”

Portman, 65, who served in the presidential administrations of both Bushes, was under consideration by both John McCain and Mitt Romney to be their running mates in their respective presidential bids. Portman also helped them and other GOP presidential candidates practice for debates by playing their Democratic rivals.

He was elected to Congress from southern Ohio in a 1993 special election and won six more elections before being tapped by President George W. Bush to serve as U.S. trade representative in 2005. He traveled the globe, negotiating dozens of trade agreements. Bush then nominated him to be his White House budget director in 2006.

Portman stepped down in 2007. He returned to politics in 2010 with a successful U.S. Senate run and won again in 2016, both times by landslide margins in a traditional swing state.

Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken said in a statement after Portman’s announcement that his service has been “invaluable.”