Mandel keeps possible run for office open

In the second filing, Mandel wrote that he plans to run in 2020 for Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, which contains his Beachwood home. The 36-page document otherwise discloses millions of dollars in assets, including stocks and real-estate holdings. Mandel is paid $109,961 a year as Ohio’s treasurer, but his wife, Illana, is a member of one of the Cleveland area’s richest families, which makes disclosing his personal finances complex.

Two Ohio Republicans with ties to Mandel said the paperwork is an avenue for Mandel to maintain an organized campaign committee, rather than a serious declaration that he’s running for the 11th District, which is Ohio’s most Democratic district. Closing his federal committee would require him to liquidate his campaign account, including refunding or giving away the more than $3.6 million in cash that’s left over from his Senate campaign.

The move nonetheless keeps the door open for Mandel to run for federal office in the future. Notably, Mandel has not reported giving his leftover campaign funds to other Republican candidates, or to Republican Party organizations, in a tough election cycle for the GOP.

Mandel did not return a message seeking comment. Spokesman Chris Berry said in an email: “Right now, Josh is focused on his family and Mandel on the treasurer’s office, not on political campaigns. He won’t be making any announcements about his future for a long time.”

Mandel has kept a low public profile since he dropped out of the Senate race in January, citing his wife’s health. Details of what that concerned weren’t offered.

The decision caught the GOP off-guard, and prompted a frantic search for a last-minute replacement. That process resulted in U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci dropping his struggling bid for Ohio governor less than two weeks later, with encouragement from President Donald Trump’s political operation, to run for the Senate instead. Renacci then won the May Republican primary, and now is challenging Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Mandel, 40, has held political ambitions since he was young. He was 29 when he was first elected to the Ohio House in 2006. Four years later, he was elected state treasurer at age 33. In 2012, he lost to Brown. Mandel was re-elected as state treasurer in 2014, but in 2016 began gearing up for another challenge to Brown in 2018 before he eventually dropped out.

Taking Mandel’s filing at face value, if he were to run for Congress in 2020, his $3.6 million in cash would instantly allow him to fund a credible campaign. Mandel has raised only a net $2,950 since he dropped out of the Senate race, factoring in more than $943,000 in donor refunds that his campaign has issued.