Jessie Balmert, and Deirdre Shesgreen

Cincinnati

Sen. Rob Portman will vote for President Donald Trump's education secretary pick Betsy DeVos, making it that much harder for Democrats to kill her nomination.

“I support Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education because during the confirmation process she committed to strongly support public education and because of her support for local control, instead of having the federal government dictate education policy at the state and local level," Portman said in a statement Thursday morning.

Ohioans flooded Senate phone lines in Washington, hoping that Portman, of Terrace Park, would cast the deciding vote on her nomination. The Senate vote on DeVos' nomination could come as early as Friday.

Portman's Democratic counterpart, Sen. Sherrod Brown, opposes DeVos' nomination. He and other Democrats are trying to delay her confirmation vote as they look for one more Republican to join in their opposition.

While most Republicans support DeVos, some GOP senators have wavered. This week, Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska committed to opposing DeVos. The Senate has 52 Republicans, and DeVos needs 51 for a confirmation.

As it stands, Vice President Mike Pence would likely have to break a tie in her favor. One more "no" vote would likely tank DeVos' nomination.

Some Democrats had their eye on Portman as a potential swing vote, and his office remained mum until Thursday morning about his position.

As the Ohio Republican deliberated, his constituents flooded his phone lines. His spokeswoman, Emily Benavides, said the office has received "a higher than normal amount of calls but that’s to be expected when the Senate is considering a new administration’s cabinet nominees."

A spokeswoman for Brown, Jenny Donohue, said he had also received tens of thousands of calls and letters from constituents who want the Cleveland Democrat to vote "no" on DeVos--something he committed to two weeks ago. Calls to senators have caused problems for the entire voicemail and phone system, Donohue said.

Kasich endorses Trump education nominee

Some Ohioans oppose DeVos’ nomination because of her advocacy for charter schools and vouchers. She also failed to pay a more than $5 million fine her old political action committee owed to Ohio for violating the state's campaign finance laws. Portman has said he would not make the fine an issue with her confirmation, because she was not a party to the lawsuit.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has supported her nomination. He and other supporters say DeVos will curb the federal role in education and give states more freedom to innovate.