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The first debate for the U.S. Senate race will be inside the studio of 21 WFMJ-TV on Oct. 14
YOUNGSTOWN
The first debate between U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, the incumbent Republican, and his Democratic challenger ex-Gov. Ted Strickland will be in the studio of 21 WFMJ-TV.
The one-hour debate, co-sponsored by The Vindicator and WFMJ, will take place Oct. 14, starting at noon.
The campaigns announced Aug. 17 there would be three debates between Portman and Strickland in Youngstown, Columbus and Cleveland. But the locations weren’t disclosed at the time. The Vindicator asked both campaigns about the time and location of the Youngstown debate with Portman’s providing the information.
It’s almost a certainty that members of the public won’t be allowed in the studio during the debate given the size of the venue and that journalists and those with the two campaigns will be there.
The first of four debates during the 2006 gubernatorial race between Strickland, who won the election, and Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell, then the secretary of state, on Aug. 24 of that year was also in the WFMJ studio and co-sponsored by The Vindicator. Besides members of the campaign staffs, only a Vindicator reporter was allowed inside the debate area to watch it live.
The other Portman-Strickland Senate debates are set for Oct. 17 in Columbus, sponsored by WBNS-10TV and the Columbus Dispatch; and Oct. 20 in Cleveland, sponsored by the Cleveland City Club and Scripps ABC.
Recent polls show Portman with a 7.5-percentage-point lead, according to RealClearPolitics.com, a website that aggregates polling data.
Also, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Senate Majority PAC, both who back Strickland, have canceled $7 million in television commercials in recent weeks.
Portman and his allies have spent about $31 million to $37 million on TV commercials while Strickland and his supporters have spent about $16 million.