Portman will support Trump but doesn't want to be his running mate

VIENNA

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman said today having billionaire Donald Trump lead the Republican ticket as its presidential nominee will “be a positive in the end” for his re-election bid.

“I’ve got a lot of friends frankly who normally don’t vote and they came out and voted for [Trump] and they don’t consider themselves Republicans normally,” Portman, a Republican from the Cincinnati area, said at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna. “But they strongly support [Trump]. He’ll bring new people to the party, no question about it.”

Portman, seeking re-election this year with ex-Gov. Ted Strickland as his Democratic challenger, also said he has “no interest” in being Trump’s vice presidential running mate.

Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee and the only candidate left in the party’s primary race after Ohio Gov. John Kasich quit Wednesday. Portman had supported Kasich.

“I said all along I intend to support the Republican nominee,” Portman said. “The Republican voters have now spoken. The nominee appears to be Donald Trump. I’ll be supporting Donald Trump as the nominee as I said I would.”

For the complete story, read Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com