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Democrat Ted Strickland said Republicans ‘are scared to death of my candidacy’
LORDSTOWN
Ex-Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat running in 2016 for the U.S. Senate, said Republicans and incumbent Rob Portman are criticizing him because “they are scared to death of my candidacy.”
Strickland made the comment Monday to The Vindicator after an event at the United Auto Workers Local 1112 union hall.
A recent Quinnipiac Poll shows Strickland ahead of Portman, a Republican who will seek his second six-year term next year, 46 percent to 40 percent.
“I’m sure they’re doing polling just as these public polls are being conducted,” Strickland said. “They know if the election was held now, I would win, so they’re going to do everything they can to try to build Sen. Portman up and tear Ted Strickland down. But I trust the people in this state will not allow the special interests to buy the Senate seat.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce started running a television commercial Monday critical of Strickland’s record as governor. Portman’s campaign said Monday it was running online ads to “highlight Strickland’s awful record as governor when Ohio lost more than 350,000 jobs and trailed almost every other state at 48th in job creation.”
Strickland traveled Monday with U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, to Cleveland, Akron and Lordstown talking about trade and outsourcing. In addition to Portman and the Chamber, the Ohio Republican Party and the National Republican Senatorial Committee criticized the ex-governor, who lost his re-election bid in 2010 to Republican John Kasich.
“Ted Strickland drove Ohio’s economy into the ditch,” said Matt Borges, Ohio Republican Party chairman.
Strickland said it was President George W. Bush and Portman – who served as Bush’s trade representative and later as his director of the Office of Management and Budget – who “ran the economy into the ground. We had a national recession. I did not cause the national recession. Ohio suffered as a result.”
Also Monday, Portman’s campaign announced it raised about $2.9 million between April and June, and had more than $10 million on hand.
“Rob continues his momentum, gaining more support from voters across Ohio,” said campaign manager Corry Bliss. “While Rob is working hard and getting results for Ohio families and workers, more and more people are realizing that Ohio can’t afford to return to the days of Gov. Strickland.”
Campaign finance reports for the second quarter of the year don’t have to be filed until July 15.
Portman will “have more money than me, but I’ll have enough money to get my message out,” Strickland said.
During the first quarter, Portman raised $2.75 million compared with $671,073 for Strickland and $757,043 for Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, who’s also seeking the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat.