Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has spoken with J.D. Vance (above) about a potential bid, according to three sources familiar with the discussions. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images 'Hillbilly Elegy' author Vance urged to run for Senate

Top Senate Republicans have quietly reached out to J.D. Vance — the star author of “Hillbilly Elegy” — about running for Senate in Ohio after the abrupt withdrawal last week of GOP candidate Josh Mandel.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has spoken with Vance about a potential bid, according to three sources familiar with the discussions. Mandel announced on Friday that he would exit from the Ohio Senate race — one of the more high-profile battles in the 2018 midterm elections — due to his wife’s health issues.


McConnell has told associates that he would prioritize the race if Vance jumps in.

Establishment Republicans have not settled on Vance as their favored candidate to take on Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) is still mulling a run, and Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has spoken with Renacci about a potential Senate bid.

Other Ohio Republicans, such as retiring Rep. Pat Tiberi and Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, have passed on challenging Brown, one of 10 Senate Democrats up for reelection from a state President Donald Trump carried in 2016.

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The sole Republican remaining in the race to take on Brown is businessman Mike Gibbons, a self-funder who has not run for office before. Ohio's filing deadline is Feb. 7, and the primary is set for May 8.

Though he offered a sympathetic portrayal of Trump voters in his book, Vance has been critical of the president, arguing, for example, that he uses rhetoric “that’s not in the best interest of the party or the country."

A spokesman for Vance did not immediately return a request for comment.

Eliana Johnson contributed to this report.