NEW YORK (JTA) — Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel failed in his bid to unseat Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Republicans hoping to win control of the U.S. Senate had placed great hope in Mandel, a former Marine who is Jewish. Brown is a strong ally of organized labor and a pillar of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.
Mandel’s candidacy divided the prominent Jewish Ohio family of Mandel’s wife. In a full-page open letter in last week’s Cleveland Jewish News, nine members of the Ratner family, which made its fortune in real estate, recalled their happiness when Mandel, the Ohio treasurer and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, married into their family. But they noted their dismay over his opposition to same-sex marriage and allowing openly gay people to serve in the military. They cited a family member who married a same-sex spouse and also served in the military.
In more full-page ads, two other Ratners, real estate magnate Ron and Susan, endorsed Brown and President Obama, while on a later page, two more Ratners and a dozen Mandels joined several hundred Ohio Jews in endorsing Mandel.
Brown received the endorsement of J Street PAC.
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