Story highlights Donald Trump has hired the Republican who oversaw the last two campaigns in Ohio to run his 2016 campaign there

Bob Paduchik led George W. Bush's successful 2000 and 2004 Buckeye State operations

(CNN) Donald Trump has hired the Republican operative who oversaw the last two winning GOP campaigns in Ohio presidential politics to run his 2016 campaign there.

Bob Paduchik, who led George W. Bush's successful 2000 and 2004 Buckeye State operations, will do the same for Trump, the Ohio Republican Party said.

"Bob Paduchik is one of the best campaign managers in America. He is a well-known and respected operative in Ohio with a great record of success," said Matt Borges, the chairman of the state GOP, in a statement. Paduchik also managed Rob Portman's tough 2010 Senate race.

Trump, who has a skeletal campaign staff compared to Hillary Clinton's sprawling Brooklyn-based operation, has begun hiring state directors in recent weeks. And Trump's most plausible path to the White House almost certainly goes through Ohio, where its heavily white, manufacturing base is expected to give Trump a shot in November.

Trump lost Ohio in the Republican primary, and the state's governor, John Kasich, has declined to endorse him.