Chairman working to mend fences
CANTON — These days, Jane Timken’s phone gets a workout. In the days after she took control of the Ohio Republican Party, the voice mailbox on her cellphone was filled. It had been ringing for days.
While much of Presidentelect Donald Trump’s rhetoric has been about building walls, Timken’s duty as the top Republican in Ohio is simple: mend fences and build bridges within a party that came out of the election season bloodied and bruised but victors of the White House.
Timken unseated Matt Borges this month to become chairman of the Ohio GOP. It was a move made with the Trump’s blessing. Timken’s meteoric rise through party ranks — she now has the ear of the president — is nothing if not astonishing. She lent her support to Trump early in the campaign, while Borges seemed to campaign against Trump even after the election.
Trump called Timken shortly after she wrestled control of the party’s top job away from Borges. Trump, who likes to win, probably relayed similar thoughts to Timken.
“I think I’m going to keep what he said to me private,” Timken said, laughing at the memory. “He congratulated me. I was very honored to have received his call.”
What does this mean for Timken? She is an attorney who married into the steel magnate family. This past year, she caught the Trump coattails at the right time.
Now Timken finds herself leading a state party that is both fractured and practically broke, at least financially. If the party were neither, Timken probably would not have taken over for Borges.
Now it’s time to fix the things she believes are broken.
Some of that already has begun. Much heavy lifting of mending fences will take place during the inaugural. The Ohio Capitol Society will hold a reception at the Capitol Skyline Hotel in Washington, D.C. Don’t be surprised if Trump makes an appearance.
“This is an important, unifying event,” Timken said. “Gov. (John) Kasich, Sen. (Rob) Portman and statewide officeholders will be there. There’s a lot of excitement about this inaugural event. It will be a lot of Ohio Republicans gathering in Washington to celebrate a historic event.”
Kasich, who is term-limited and can’t seek re-election as governor, seemed ready to do his part to bring unity within the party. Kasich clearly supported Borges to remain as chairman.
“Congratulations to Jane on becoming chair of the Ohio Republican Party. Jane is following in the footsteps of one our party’s most successful chairmen in history and will need the help of all Republicans in Ohio to continue Matt’s work,” Kasich said in a statement. “Republicans across Ohio owe Matt Borges a debt of gratitude. Matt has led our party to unprecedented victories up and down the ballot. He has always maintained his class and put others before himself. He has been a model chairman.”
Borges’ once-rising star has fallen. He was rumored to be a leading candidate to take over chairmanship of the Republican National Committee. Then Trump won the election.
A week after her victory, Timken wrote a letter to Republican leaders around Ohio. The gist: The party needs funds, it needs a clear voice and it needs to come together.