WASHINGTON, D.C. — Matt Dolan is not a MAGA (Make America Great Again) Republican, and he said he's not a RINO (Republican In Name Only), either.
“I don't put labels on what I've accomplished. What I've accomplished, I think is a conservative agenda that's helped Ohio,” said Dolan.
The state senator and former state representative now chairs the Ohio Senate Finance Committee. He is also a partner at a municipal and real estate law firm, and his father owns the Cleveland Guardians. He first ran for Senate in 2022, but lost the primary to JD Vance.
Dolan said his unwavering support for a traditional conservative, Republican agenda has yielded results in Ohio: “I’ve cut their taxes, reduced regulations in the school choice, saved women's sports, and invested in law enforcement, all the things that as Republicans, we talk about.”
But there’s no avoiding the elephant in the room: former President Donald Trump and his America First populist movement, which has become a growing force in Ohio Republican politics.
“I feel that the party is heading toward Trump and I’m heading in that same direction. Trump has proven what he’s done for this country,” said David Wolff of Collins, Ohio.
“I’m thinking that Mr. Trump has proven himself,” said Steve Lippert, cofounder of conservative group America First Ohio.
“For the presidential election, to me there’s only one candidate,” said Thomas Gill of Fairfield Beach, Ohio. “He’s proven himself.”
Dolan neither sought nor received Trump’s endorsement for Senate, though he said he would have accepted it.
Amid the ascendancy of Trump’s America First platform, Dolan’s brand of small-government conservatism has fallen out of fashion among Republican voters in recent years. That could hurt his campaign in the GOP primary on March 19.
When asked by Spectrum News’ Harri Leigh how much he saw Ohio as a proxy fight for the president, he responded that voters care more about a candidate’s track record than alignment with Trump.
“I'll let you decide, but that's not my mission,” Dolan said. “My mission is to make sure that people understand that when I go to Washington, I'm going to be fighting for them.”
That argument, though, has not been building support for another Republican offering an alternative to Trump—presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who recently lost the GOP primary in her home state of South Carolina.
Dolan demurred when asked if Haley’s loss was concerning to him.
“I know when I travel the state, and people here what I've been able to accomplish for them, that my budget has been named the most conservative budget, not just in Ohio history, but the best conservative budget in the country,” he said. “So I think what people understand with me is that they see someone who's actually getting things done.”
Dolan said he was the most likely to beat Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown in the general election because most he appeals to independents have voted for Brown in the past. That may not be enough to win over Republican primary voters, though, who tend to be more partisan.
The race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in the country. Candidates have already raised a combined $45 million this cycle, according to campaign finance data. Dolan has raised more than $9 million, including a $7 million personal loan.
Editor's note: This story is part of a series on the Republican candidates running in Ohio's U.S. Senate primary.
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