Sen. Rob Portman got the word late Friday night: He would not be Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s choice for vice president.

Romney reached Portman by telephone in Columbus, where the Ohio Republican senator was staying overnight before taking part in a 100-mile bicycle ride Saturday to benefit cancer research. The former Massachusetts governor told Portman he had chosen House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as his running mate.

Portman, who had served as U.S. trade representative and White House budget director under former President George W. Bush, had been widely considered a finalist for the vice presidential nomination. But he quickly issued a statement saying that Romney “made a great choice in Paul Ryan.’’

“He is an accomplished public servant and a leading voice on the most pressing issues facing our country,’’ Portman said. “Paul is one of my best friends in Congress and someone I have worked closely with as a former colleague’’ in the House.

Portman said that looks forward to “working with Paul to ensure that the Romney-Ryan ticket carries Ohio and is victorious in November. Most importantly, as a member of the Senate, I look forward to working closely with a Romney-Ryan Administration to restore fiscal sanity and enact pro-growth policies to create jobs.”

Privately and publicly, a number of Ohio Republicans believed that Portman would have given Romney a better chance to carry Ohio in the fall against President Barack Obama.

“Rob would have made the difference in Ohio,’’ said one Republican official.

When Portman decided to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in 2010, he did so from a place his family has deep ties to — Lebanon’s Golden Lamb Inn and Restaurant.

Portman has strong ties to Warren County that date back to his grandfather.

“He’s one of our favorite sons,” said Warren County Commissioner Pat South. “Even though Senator Portman wasn’t technically born here, he has always maintained ties to Warren County through the Golden Lamb and his history studies.”

Robert Jones, Portman’s grandfather, for whom the Senator is named, moved to Lebanon in 1926 from Dayton, at first leasing the Golden Lamb and then purchasing it a year later. Jones had worked at a restaurant in Yellow Springs while attending Antioch College, said Warren County and Golden Lamb Historian John Zimkus.

“Robert Jones is considered the father of tourism in Warren County,” Zimkus said.

When Jones purchased the Lamb, it was a ramshackle boarding house in dilapidated condition.

“The building hadn’t been called the Golden Lamb for generations,” Zimkus said. “But Senator Portman’s grandfather started renovating it and brought the name back.”

Jones made the fortuitous decision to capitalize on the building’s then 130-year history, re-imagining the building as a patriotic tavern and inn, thematic elements it still carries to this day. Jones was responsible for purchasing much of the building’s Revolutionary-era decor, including a large collection of Shaker items.

The family lived on the second floor in what is now known as the Corwin dining room. According to Portman, Jones ran the restaurant while his wife, Virginia, handled the book keeping.

Jones eventually moved his family to Cincinnati, where Senator Portman was born. But the family has remained tied to the building through its ownership. Portman and his siblings Wym and Genna retain ownership of the physical building and lease the operations of the restaurant to the Phoenix Restaurant Group.

“The whole Portman family remains very proud of their heritage and of their connections to the Golden Lamb,” Zimkus said. The entire family ate dinner at the restaurant the day after Thanksgiving in 2011, Zimkus noted.

Portman is also a student of the area’s history. His book “Wisdom’s Paradise” which he co-authored with Cheryl Bauer is a history of the Union Shaker Village that once stood in Warren County. Portman first became interested in the Shakers after writing a high school paper on them, Zimkus said.

“When the Warren County History Museum opened its Shaker pottery exhibit (in 2011), Senator Portman came to see it and was very excited about it,” Zimkus said.

Portman, 56, was born in Cincinnati and was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1992, serving in that position until 2005. He was named U.S. trade representative in 2005 under President George W. Bush and later served under Bush as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010. “I have no doubt that he would have made an excellent vice president,” South said. “But perhaps selfishly, I’m glad he didn’t get it because I think he does more good as a senator. But either way, I have no doubt he would succeed at the job placed in front of him.”