New York Knicks owner James Dolan may be getting a toe-hold in the U.S. Senate.
A first cousin of the combative billionaire is among the frontrunners to replace Sen. J.D. Vance should he be elected vice president in November.
Matt Dolan, 59, a moderate GOP state senator from Chagrin Falls has long been itching for a promotion to the major leagues.
He ran against Vance in the 2022 Republican Senate primary, and came up short again in the 2024 Senate primary against car dealership entrepreneur Bernie Moreno.
Despite the double loss, Dolan remains a favorite of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who endorsed him for Senate in 2024 and would have the sole power to appoint Vance’s successor.
“The word around DC is that Gov. DeWine could tap Matt Dolan for Senator Vance’s seat if President Trump wins and Vance ascends to the vice presidency. DeWine is done with politics when his term runs out so political risk wouldn’t factor into his calculus,” said a Senate GOP insider.
DeWine, 77, is a moderate and skeptical of Trump.
He and Trump endorsed rival candidates in the 2022 and 2024 Senate primaries — with both of Trump’s prevailing.
Matt Dolan comes from DeWine’s moderate wing of the party.
DeWine was particularly annoyed by the Trump-Vance attacks against Haitian migrants in Springfield, which the ticket has accused of eating pets and has vowed to deport.
“Their comments are just hurtful, they’re hurtful to a lot of people, and people listen and they hear that he’s kicking everybody out, anybody who’s not born here,” DeWine told Politico. “To say that these people are illegal is just not right, you can’t make up stuff like that.”
That makes it unlikely DeWine will pick a MAGA favorite like Vivek Ramaswamy, whose name has also been floated as a possible choice.
While Ohio is a reliably red state in the 2024 presidential election, its House and Senate politics are more purple.
Several polls now show Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown edging out Moreno in the race.
The Democrat outspent his Republican rival by more than 3 to 1.
Matt Dolan’s parents are billionaires Larry and Eva Dolan — whose money comes from their early investment in Cablevision.
They kicked in at least $4 million into a SuperPAC backing their son during his earlier Senate races and are likely to spend more if he should find himself defending the seat as an incumbent.
“We would support whatever Matt wants to do,” said brother Paul Dolan, CEO and co-owner of the Cleveland Guardians baseball team.
“We are all very supportive of Matt’s career and public service,” James Dolan added.
Reached by phone Matt Dolan refused to speculate. “I am focused on the 2024 elections,” he said.
“I’ll look for someone who wants to get things done every day and will stay focused on it — It’s a tough job, it’s not an easy job,” DeWine said of what qualities he would be looking for in a senator. “We also have to have someone who will be able to stay there a while.”
