Sen. Rob Portman is set to release his first radio at on Wednesday, focusing on former Gov. Ted Strickland and his treatment of the coal industry in his home territory of Southeast Ohio.
In the ad, Portman touts his winning of the the United Mine Workers of America endorsement and his backing of Southeastern Ohio, where Strickland campaigned for two days. Strickland represented Southeast Ohio during his 12-year tenure in Congress and was backed by the union group during his gubernatorial campaigns.
“Ted Strickland wants us to think he’s on our side. But Retread Ted has changed,” the ad starts before listing newspaper headlines bashing his treatment of the coal industry after losing his gubernatorial race in 2010. “Strickland turned his back on Ohio coal families, taking a two hundred and fifty grand a year job for a liberal Washington group that lobbied for the War on Coal.”
Portman’s campaign refers to the former governor joining on as president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, which largely spurred the endorsment for the incumbent senator. In fact, the union group endorsed Ohio Democrats exclusively during the 2006, 2010, 2012 and 2014 election cycles.
“Ted Strickland is no friend to southeast Ohio,” the ad says. “Rob Portman is the leader we can trust. Portman has been endorsed by the United Mine Workers of America. Rob’s fighting to protect our jobs. Pushing back against the EPA and Obama’s War on Coal. And defending the Second Amendment. Rob Portman is standing strong for Southeast Ohio.”
The race has become a territorial battle lately, with both candidates focusing time and resources in the region. Earlier in the week, Strickland’s campaign released an ad focused solely on Southeast Ohio, touting his roots and work in the area.
“I’m somebody who is keenly aware of where I came from,” Strickland said in the ad.
Portman and Strickland are locked in a fierce battle for supremacy in the state, with it possibly determining the future of the U.S. Senate in the process. According to the latest RealClearPolitics average, the former governor holds an extremely slim lead, topping Portman by only one half of a percentage point (40.5-40 percent).
