More on Jim Jordan
* Jim Jordan represents Ohio’s 4th congressional district which includes 11 north central and west central Ohio counties including Shelby, Champaign, Auglaize and Logan counties.
* Jordan graduated from Graham High School in 1982 and was a four-time state wrestling champion.
* He previously served in the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate.
* This fall, his Democratic opponent is Doug Litt of Mansfield
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan won re-election to his second term in 2008 with 65 percent of the vote. This fall, he has a Democratic opponent who no one has heard of before. His holds one of the safest Republican seats in Ohio.
So why does Jordan, R-Urbana, have $793,202 in his campaign treasury? That’s more than twice as much campaign cash as Republican Steve Austria in Beavercreek, and four times what Republican Mike Turner of Centerville has in the bank.
To Republicans keeping watch on Jordan, there are only two possibilities that make any sense. Either he plans to challenge U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, in 2012, or he yearns for a greater role in the House if the Republicans gain control of the chamber in the November elections.
Jordan’s path to the Senate goes this way: Economic conservatives who love tax cuts and hate federal spending would rush to support him. Why? In 2008, Jordan broke with President George W. Bush and House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, to oppose the $700 billion package aimed at salvaging the nation’s financial system.
He also wants to slash the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 12.5 percent, eliminate estate taxes, and scrap the federal tax on capital gains, which are the profits from the sale of real estate and stock.
But there are myriad obstacles between Jordan and the Senate. One is state Auditor Mary Taylor, the Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate.
If Republican John Kasich wins the governor’s race, bet on her running for the Senate in 2012. With Jordan’s recognition statewide registering in the single digits, Taylor probably would beat him.
In addition, the policy ideas that help him in a GOP primary may cost him the general election. Jordan warms the hearts of the anti-tax Club For Growth in Washington, but it’s doubtful that slashing corporate taxes will rouse the population of Ohio. And Brown, a formidable candidate who will have plenty of money, has the rhetorical ability to cast Jordan as a candidate for the country club set.
At least one Republican close to Jordan doubts he wants to be in the Senate. He points to Jordan’s background as a college wrestler, saying he enjoys a good fight. That aggressive style has suited him well in the rambunctious House where just about anything goes.
By contrast, the Senate is a clubbier atmosphere, where even skilled agitators such as Brown have had to tone down their rhetoric a touch.
Instead, some see him trying to win a chairmanship – the domestic policy subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee – or someday, the full House Budget Committee. That would give him the platform to do what he seems to relish – communicating his ideas, either on TV or in speeches.
To become a player in the House, a lawmaker has to funnel campaign money to other candidates. Jordan has been doing exactly that. In his last campaign finance report to the Federal Election Commission, Jordan donated money to 13 Republican candidates across the country, including such faraway places as Mississippi, Florida and Texas.
After all, when you have nearly $800,000 and no serious opponent, what else can you do with your money?
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