CLEVELAND — Ohio Sen. Matt Dolan announced his run for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, seeking to unseat Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2024, who is expected to run for reelection.

What You Need To Know

  • Dolan previously ran for Rob Portman's position in 2022, but lost to JD Vance

  • Dolan was a candidate that didn't adhere to former President Trump's ideologies and include them in his campaign, unlike his competitors

  • He is the first Republican to jump into the 2024 Senate race

Dolan, 58, is the first Republican to jump into the race. In 2022, he also ran for former Sen. Rob Portman's position. 

The business lawyer and former prosecutor is in his second four-year term representing parts of Cuyahoga County in the state Senate. He previously served three terms in the Ohio House.

On social issues, Dolan has supported restrictions on abortion, but he voted against the bill that restricts the procedure at the first detectable fetal heartbeat because he believed it would draw an expensive federal court challenge that seemed at the time unwinnable.

“I am unapologetically committed to putting the needs of Ohio first and delivering results as our next U.S. Senator. With the courage of my convictions, clarity of purpose and a resolute focus on the challenges and opportunities facing our beloved state, I am ready to lead," Dolan said in a news release.

Dolan also sponsored a package of firearm reforms proposed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine after the deadly 2019 mass shooting in Dayton, challenging those who saw it as assailing Second Amendment rights. Despite initial bipartisan support, the bill stalled.

He was one of the candidates who didn't use former President Donald Trump's ideologies in his platform when running in 2022. He cast himself as tough but pragmatic during his campaign. Though he entered the primary late and lacked the profile of several other candidates, Dolan surged to finish just behind the winner, author JD Vance, and former state treasurer Josh Mandel, who had spent millions and campaigned vigorously for a year. Vance went on to win the election in November.

Though he didn't encourage Trump's platform during his campaign, he had voted for him twice and said in an interview will Spectrum News in March 2022 that he would support him again in the next election.

“Look, I don’t agree with his personality. I don’t have his personality. I don’t agree with the way he behaves,” Dolan said. “But if you’re telling me that it’s between getting that back into our country, or continuing what we’re doing with Joe Biden, it’s a no-brainer.”

The Associated Press and Reporter Taylor Popielarz contributed to this report.

What You Need To Know