Top GOP Candidate Josh Mandel Drops Out of Ohio Senate Race

The Republican frontrunner to challenge Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio’s 2018 Senate race dropped out Friday, citing health issues with his wife. “I’m writing today to let you know that I am ending my campaign for US Senate in order to be there for my wife and our three children,” Josh Mandel, currently Ohio’s state treasurer said in a statement. “We recently learned that my wife has a health issue that will require my time, attention and presence. In other words, I need to be there.” Mandel, who previously lost the 2012 Senate race to Brown, was considered the top choice to win the state’s Republican primary this May in a field full of other candidates with little-to-no name recognition.