Matt Dolan running again for U.S. Senate

SANDUSKY — State Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, is stepping up to the plate again to run for the U.S. Senate, seeking the Republican nomination to oppose Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. A baseball analogy seems appropriate, as the Dolan family is best known for its ownership of the Cleveland Guardians baseball team. But Matt Dolan, 58, has forged a successful political career. He formerly served in the Ohio House and he's in his second term in the state Senate, representing District 24 in Cuyahoga County. Dolan came in third place in the Republican primary when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2020, coming in third behind JD Vance and Josh Mandel with 23.3% of the vote. Vance went on to defeat Tim Ryan in the general election, claiming a seat formerly held by Rob Portman. Bernie Moreno, a Cleveland area businessman who also ran last time, also has entered the 2024 U.S. Senate race. Other GOP candidates also are expected. Ohio Democrats have signaled that helping Brown win another term is a top priority. During an interview with the Register, Dolan laid out his issues, discussed his ownership of stock in the Norfolk Southern railroad company and defended his vote for a controversial $20 million special election in August. He also promised to make Lake Erie's health a top priority. Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly have been advancing a bill to hold a special election in August to require a 60% majority for passage of state questions to amend the Ohio Constitution. Critics have accused Republicans of trying to undermine democracy and trying to rig the outcome of a proposed November state question on abortion rights. The supermajority proposal has passed the Ohio Senate with Dolan voting in favor but hasn't come to a vote yet on the House floor. "Any change in the constitution should be held to a higher standard," said Dolan. He acknowledged that defeating the abortion issue is a priority for him, but said the proposed state question also is wrong on parents' rights. "This is not going to be a referendum on abortion," he said. Dolan's financial disclosure statement shows that he owns between $15,000 and $50,000 in Norfolk Southern common stock. Brown has criticized Norfolk Southern for being slow to aid Sandusky officials after a derailment in Sandusky last year. Columbus Avenue remains closed to southbound traffic. Dolan said there's nothing wrong with investing in transportation, a "huge part of our economy," but said he supports rail safety and will take a measured look at proposals. He noted that he voted for the state transportation bill, which included new rail safety provisions. Dolan said he was the lawmaker who authored Ohio's membership in the Great Lakes Compact, which prevents water from the Great Lakes from being shipped out of the area. Protecting Lake Erie is hugely important to Ohio's economy, Dolan said. Dolan said that Brown has minimized the importance of the southern border of the U.S. Dolan said the border question is important for him. "I just got back from the border with two Ohio sheriffs," he said. The border issue often is connected with the importation of fentanyl, a deadly drug blamed for many U.S. overdose deaths. Brown announced this week that is authoring the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act, which would impose new sanctions and money laundering penalties on illegal opioid traffickers, targeting supply chains in China and Mexico. Brown has authored other anti-drug measures, including measures supporting the Border Patrol. Dolan contends that he is the potential Republican nominee that supporters of Brown dread seeing on the general election ballot next year. Dolan said that when he won re-election in Cuyahoga County in 2020, where Democrats normally do well, he ran ahead of President Trump by 11 percentage points.