AKRON, Ohio — Whether the Republican National Committee shifts resources to down-ballot races or stays fully committed to Donald Trump, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman will be ready for November.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner while campaigning for re-election Sunday, Portman said the impact of any such moves by the RNC would be “minimal” on his race.
“I really don’t,” Portman said when asked if he believed the relationship between Trump and the RNC matter much for his own campaign. “We didn’t know it would be Trump at the time, but we wanted to rely on our own programs and it’s not just grassroots.”
“I shouldn’t say it doesn’t matter to me because I could suppose more resources for anybody in Ohio is, in a sense, good for me. In other words, if the RNC did more for me, maybe that would help me indirectly, but I think it’s minimal compared to what we’re doing for ourselves,” Portman said. “We’re running our own campaign independent.”
“We’re not expecting [RNC help] and we never did,” he added.
Since ramping up his campaign efforts last year, Portman has been a fundraising juggernaut while, at the same time, putting in place a campaign apparatus that Ohio GOP chairman Matt Borges calls the “best ground game operation in the entire country.”
Overall, the RNC has 58 staffers and 15 offices throughout the Buckeye State, with the Trump campaign adding an additional 10-12 staffers on the ground with less than three months until election day.
But some Republicans are pushing for resources currently invested in the Trump campaign to be redirected toward embattled GOP senators and House members. RNC chief strategist Sean Spicer also reportedly told reporters in an off-the-record gathering last week that any such move would not be made until mid-September or October, leading to increased speculation.
Portman continues to tout his organizational strength in comparison to that of former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, his Democratic opponent in November. He also pushed back against the Strickland campaign’s argument that working in coordination with the Clinton campaign and the Ohio Democratic Party will put them over the top.
“I would ask them for some data,” Portman said, pointing to his campaign’s work on July 4th, where the campaign took part in 17 parades in the state, with Portman walking in five himself. Strickland, on the other hand, does not appear to have marched in any.
“I just don’t think there’s much there there,” Portman said. “I’m not being critical, but I don’t think either presidential campaign is doing much on the grassroots. If you’re going to rely on that, you’re not going to do grassroots. That’s fine. People choose to do that. Sometimes they win. It’s not how I choose to run my campaigns, and I think it makes a difference in the end — both in terms of getting people to the polls and being in touch with them.”
