Republican Senate candidate Mike Gibbons is bringing in a big-name conservative ahead of the the May 8 primary: Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul.
Paul is joining Gibbons for a campaign stop on Thursday afternoon in the Cincinnati suburb of Loveland. Paul has called Gibbons "a committed fiscal and constitutional conservative."
BREAKING NEWS: @RandPaul endorses my campaign! RETWEET and spread the word. pic.twitter.com/OmuSpnumlo
— Mike Gibbons (@MikeGibbonsOH) February 15, 2018
Gibbons, a Cleveland investment banker, helped raise funds for Republican Donald Trump's presidential bid. The president is backing U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, tweeting on April 24 that Renacci “will be a fantastic Senator for the Great State of Ohio, and has my full endorsement!”
.@JimRenacci has worked so hard on Tax Reductions, Illegal Immigration, the Border and Crime. I need Jim very badly to help our agenda and to keep MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! He will be a fantastic Senator for the Great State of Ohio, and has my full endorsement!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2018
Renacci is also backed by Ohio’s Republican Senator, Rob Portman, as well as the Ohio Republican Party.
Gibbons calls himself the "conservative outsider" in the race and has a campaign commercial that says he will help Trump "drain the swamp" in Washington.
Three other contenders also crowd the GOP primary, including Melissa Ackison, Dan Kiley and Don Eckhart. The winner will on two-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown this fall.
Sabato's Crystal Ball, published by the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, ranks the Ohio Senate race as "leans Democratic" and considers Renacci the "likely Republican Senate nominee."
Paul was among the early GOP presidential challengers in 2016 before he dropped his bid and won re-election to his second Senate term.
