LeBron James for US Senate calls ramp up amid Portman's decision not to see reelection

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LeBron James is a four-time NBA champion, four-time MVP and 16-time All-Star. But could political office be in the cards for the 36-year-old Akron, Ohio, native?

With Ohio Sen. Rob Portman not seeing election in 2022, social media users floated the Los Angeles Lakers superstar’s name for Portman’s seat.

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Portman cited “partisan gridlock” as a reason why he is stepping away from Congress.

“I don’t think any Senate office has been more successful in getting things done, but honestly, it has gotten harder and harder to break through the partisan gridlock and make progress on substantive policy, and that has contributed to my decision,” he said in a statement.

The Republican was U.S. House rep from 1993 to 2005 and then served in President George W. Bush;s administration as a U.S. Trade Representative and as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. He was elected as Ohio’s senator in 2010 and then again in 2016.

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Portman received criticism for how he handled himself during Trump’s presidency.

On the flip side, James has been a staunch critic of Trump. He campaigned for Hillary Clinton in Ohio in the run-up to the 2016 election and supported President Biden during his election campaign in 2020.

James launched his More Than A Vote campaign to help African-Americans make their voices heard at the polls. The movement was credited with helping Georgia gain two Democrat senators and turn the state blue for Biden during the 2020 election.

It’s unclear whether James would give up a pretty nice lifestyle in Los Angeles for the cutthroat world of politics. In August, he told Vice’s “Stick To Sports” he had friends telling him to run for president.

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He said at the time “it seemed like a lot.”

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