Who Is Rob Portman's Wife? New Details On Jane Dudley Portman
She became a Republican for her husband.
getty Before winning a seat as a U.S. Senator from Ohio in 2010, Rob Portman was a U.S. Representative, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and worked briefly in the White House during George H.W. Bush’s administration.
Portman is considered a moderate conservative, though he has voted in line with the president’s position almost 95 percent of the time. In 2013, he was the first Republican statewide and national-level to recognize and support same-sex marriage, though he is pro-life and was in favor of banning abortion after 20 weeks. He also receives an incredible amount of funding from the NRA, getting more than $3 million over the years.
Like his Republican colleagues, he agrees with them on a number of issues. He supported Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court, opposes the ACA, and has defended members of his party who were accused of sexual assault (even though he voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act in 2013). But most recently, in 2017, he introduced the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) bill, which clarifies sex trafficking law.
Regardless of his political positions, what do we know about his family and personal life? Were they on board with his interest in having a political career? And, specifically, just who is Rob Portman’s wife? Here are 6 details to know about Jane Dudley Portman.
1. They met on a blind date.
The couple were set up by Jane’s aunt and uncle who were friends with Rob’s parents. According to her, “My aunt and uncle lived in Cincinnati for a number of years and were friends with Rob’s parents. My aunt and I had gone on a really cool hiking trip in the Himalayas and when I came to visit her after that she said, ‘I have this friend whose son is planning a kayaking trip in China, maybe the two of you should go out to dinner and talk about it.’”
Though the date was only “okay,” the two kept in touch and wrote letters, eventually reconnecting a few months later, going on a rafting trip, and dating.
2. They’ve been married for over 30 years.
The couple wed in 1986.
3. They have three kids.
They are parents to three grown children: Jed, Will, and Sally.
4. She volunteers.
She’s not only an advocate for breast cancer research, she’s also a volunteer in the Cincinnati area.
“The primary one for me is Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where I’ve been on the board for seven years... I tutor some children in Cincinnati Public Schools, and for the last three years I’ve been working with two Vietnamese students at the Academy of World Languages. And I drive a Meals On Wheels route, which I’ve done for about 12 years,” she said.
5. She’s a former Democrat.
Jane and Rob struck up an agreement: she would become a Republican if he became a Methodist.
But the change wasn’t that big of a deal because, according to her, “Our consolidation agreement... It’s sort of a funny thing looking back. It was not a big deal. Growing up in North Carolina, everybody was a Democrat, and I was always on the conservative end of that spectrum. And for both Rob and me it was important to have a shared faith. I also said I would take his last name, but all our kids get my maiden name as a middle name. That’s what it was really all about — finding common ground.”
6. She has some political experience.
Most of which was campaigning, and having an internship in the White House. She campaigned for a friend running for the state house in North Carolina, which she did when she was in seventh grade. She later worked on Tom Daschle’s Senate campaign and was a White House intern for Jimmy Carter.
But when her husband ran for a seat in the Senate, she was actively campaigning for him. She led the Women For Portman initiative, which encouraged women in Ohio to vote for Portman.
She has said that she enjoyed being on the campaign trail: “It really runs the gamut, the involvement of spouses. Some want an arm’s length-distance from the work their [spouse] is doing. I really enjoy it. I enjoy the campaign; I’ve enjoyed getting out and going different places. As a family, we’ve done parades and gone to county fairs. I’ve also done some speaking on my own to different groups. I like being able to participate, to disengage when I want and to plug in when it works.”
Samantha Maffucci is an associate editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.