Ohio Sen. Rob Portman won re-election to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday night, topping Democratic former Gov. Ted Strickland in what turned out to be a decisive victory for the incumbent Republican.
The race was considered one of the top contests in the country until late in the summer as Portman began pulling away from the former governor, leading in various polls by more than 20 points over the final week of the campaign.
After Donald Trump became the Republican nominee, Portman faced questions about his decision to vote for him in the general election, having endorsed Gov. John Kasich in the primary contest. Despite his support, Portman kept him at arms length and never appeared with him on the campaign trail.
However, he dropped his support for the GOP nominee in early October after the infamous video emerged of Trump making lewd and inappropriate remarks about women on a hot microphone in 2005 to “Access Hollywood.” He announced that he would vote for Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
Portman succeeded in making the race one about issues, particularly those close to home in Ohio. Throughout the campaign, he cited work throughout his first term in office, pointing to his work to pass the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) in an effort to combat the opioid crisis that has hit Ohio and other states.
A fundraising juggernaut, Portman significantly outraised the former governor, having raked in over $26 million. With that money, Portman went on the air in late May and never left the airwaves, panning Strickland throughout for his record as governor and 12 years in the House, which his team pointed to throughout as an ineffective legislator.
The Ohio Republican also earned nearly across-the-board support from newspapers in the state as 23 backed his campaign to only two for Strickland.
While Strickland was hampered by weak fundraising, he also didn’t get much help in the final months from outside groups, including the Senate Majority PAC and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), which pulled ads backing him and hitting Portman in September as polls continue to fall.
At one point, Strickland trailed Portman by more than a 2-1 margin in southeast Ohio, which he represented for 12 years in Congress.
Strickland was also hurt by various gaffes on the campaign trail, including his claim that Antonin Scalia, the late Supreme Court associate justice, died at a “good time” because of a 4-4 ruling that went in favor of unions in March, meaning Scalia could have cast the deciding vote.
In addition, he also fell victim to timing after he declared that Sen. Tim Kaine would be ready to serve as president only days after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton caught pneumonia and had a health scare while attending a 9/11 anniversary event in New York City.
