Ohio Sen. Rob Portman said Wednesday his campaign raked in nearly $4 million in the second quarter, leaving him with $13 million in cash on hand four months before the general election.
Portman’s second quarter haul is $1.5 million more than what he took in during the first quarter. Of the $4 million he raised, he gave $1 million to the Ohio Republican Party.
However, he sits with roughly the same amount in cash on hand as after the first quarter, as he spent money on advertising in his state. In late May, the campaign announced a $15 million ad buy through Election Day, including $1 million buy on Tuesday.
“The momentum behind Rob continues to grow as our unprecedented grassroots program recently surpassed 2.5 million voter contacts and we continue our record-setting fundraising,” said Corry Bliss, Portman’s campaign manager, in a statement. “While Ted Strickland has no money, no field program, and he is forced to rely on millions of dollars in misleading TV ads from Harry Reid’s out-of-state liberal Super PAC, people across Ohio support Rob because he is getting results for Ohio families.”
In 2015 alone, Portman raised $9.8 million and has taken in more than $5 million already this year. It also furthers his fundraising advantage over former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, whose campaign has struggled mightily with fundraising.
Despite taking in $1.5 million in the first quarter, Strickland’s team had only $2.7 million in the bank, about 20 percent of Portman’s total. Strickland has not announced his second quarter fundraising numbers. He’s also only raised $5.2 since launching his bid, which is only one-fourth of the total he needed to raise, according to his campaign manager when his campaign began.
However, Strickland’s campaign fired back at the news of Portman’s fundraising, calling Portman the Jeb Bush of the race — referencing the former Florida governor’s shock and awe fundraising campaign before flaming out in the GOP primary contest earlier in the year.
“Rob Portman is the Jeb Bush of senate candidates: he and his allies have already spent over $30 million on false attacks, and they’ve failed to dislodge Ted’s standing in the polls or provide Ohioans any convincing argument to re-elect Senator Portman,” said Strickland spokesman David Bergstein. “While Ted is fighting for Ohio’s working people, Portman’s rich and powerful friends are giving him millions because they want him in D.C. to continue pushing their agenda at the expense of Ohio’s working families.”
The race is currently in a dead heat. According to the RealClearPolitics average, Portman leads with 41 percent support to Strickland’s 40.5 percent.
