“Kellyanne Conway, who served as campaign manager and counselor to former President Donald Trump, has been named a senior adviser to Ohio Senate hopeful Bernie Moreno, taking sides in a race that has become a fight over which GOP candidate is closest to the former president,” Politico reports.

J.D. Vance (R), author of Hillbilly Elegy, has told friends and colleagues that he plans to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Rob Portman (R-OH), Axios reports.

“Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) reported raising more than $1 million in the first quarter of 2021, a significant boost over his previous fundraising as he openly mulls a bid for Senate,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Twitter temporarily restricted Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel’s (R) account for violating the social media platform’s rules on “hateful conduct,” the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Mandel created a poll earlier this week about which type of “illegals” would commit more crimes.

Geraldo Rivera explained on Fox & Friends why he passed on a Senate run from Ohio:

“The reaction, the initial vibe was great but it was also much more overwhelming than I ever expected. Fox freaked out, you know, said pick a lane, are you a journalist or a politician and I wasn’t ready to, you know, jump off my current turnstile, so, instead I had to kind of embarrass myself and say never mind.”

Geraldo Rivera tweets: “After a 36-hour pondering whirlwind I’ve decided not to seek public office. Erica and I deeply appreciate the good wishes of those cheering the idea.”

“Donald Trump had to be talked out of making an early endorsement in Ohio’s 2022 U.S. Senate race, a sign of his eagerness to reengage politically,” Axios reports.

“The former president discussed endorsing former state GOP chair Jane Timken last week during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago with RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, but top advisers — including Donald Trump Jr. — urged him to wait.”

Former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken (R) is joining the race to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), The Hill reports.

“Timken was widely expected to make a run for Portman’s seat. Prior to launching her campaign, she resigned from her role at the Ohio Republican Party and hired a handful of Portman’s former campaign aides, most notably Corry Bliss, who managed the senator’s successful 2016 reelection bid.”

Josh Mandel (R) told WKYC that he entered the Ohio U.S. Senate race pledging to carry on former President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Said Mandel: “I’ve been watching this sham and unconstitutional impeachment, and it’s really made my blood boil and it’s motivated me to run for the U.S. Senate. I want to go to Washington to stand up for the Trump America first agenda.”

Former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel (R) announced that he was running for U.S. Senate, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

“Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) plans to run for his state’s open Senate seat, Democrats who have spoken with him said, a bid that would test whether even a Democrat with roots in the blue-collar Youngstown region and close ties to organized labor can win in the increasingly Republican state,” the New York Times reports.

“He is expected to declare his candidacy by the beginning of March.”

“Ohio businessman Bernie Moreno (R) is likely to seek the Republican nomination to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Rob Portman in 2022, adding a twist to a contest that could help determine control of the Senate,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“It would be the first campaign for Mr. Moreno, a wealthy owner of car dealerships and a technology company who has been reaching out to political strategists and pollsters about a likely campaign. He has been an active donor in recent years but isn’t well known in national Republican circles.”

Cook Political Report: “As other Sun Belt states like Georgia and Arizona are trending more Democratic, Ohio’s demographics are moving in the opposite direction. And Democrats have better opportunities in the two other open GOP-held seats in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Still, even Republican strategists privately admit this decision from Portman isn’t good news for them and that they will have to fight — likely through a large and messy primary — to hold onto the seat. Republicans start with the advantage certainly, but it looks to be competitive…”

“So we start this now-open seat in the Lean Republican column. Recent trends don’t bode well for Democrats, so the GOP has the decided advantage, but it is indeed now among the list of competitive seats.”

Rep. Jim Renacci’s (R-OH) U.S. Senate campaign issued a news release that he said depicted an unnamed woman’s story of an “unwanted and sudden advance” from Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in the late 1980s, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The statement does not provide a date, a location, supporting evidence or identify the woman, but describes her as “a very credible source and a professional woman.”

It comes a day after Renacci told the Cincinnati Enquirer that he’d heard from “multiple women” with abuse allegations against Brown, while providing no additional details or supporting evidence.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has raised $27.1 million for his re-election campaign, an Ohio record, the Dayton Daily News reports.

That total eclipses Sen. Rob Portman’s historic $25.8 million haul in 2016.