Ohio Sen. Rob Portman is accusing former Gov. Ted Strickland of ignoring his own roots by abandoning coal miners.
A new Portman ad, “Mine Workers,” calls out Strickland, a native of Appalachia and Southeast Ohio, for having “turned his back” on the region and the industry by heading up the Center For American Progress Action Fund. That group is one of many that has fought the coal industry.
“Why did the United Mine Workers endorse Rob Portman? Because former Gov. Ted Strickland has turned his back on Ohio coal country — putting our jobs and our way of life at risk,” the ad says. “After we fired Ted Strickland for being a lousy governor, he took a $250,000 a year job in D.C., lobbying for a Washington, D.C., liberal organization that promoted the war on coal, destroying more Ohio jobs. Ted Strickland abandoned Ohio.”
“That’s another reason why the United Mine Workers endorse Rob Portman,” the ad said.
The United Mine Workers of America, which rarely backs Republicans and had been a supporter of Strickland throughout his political career, backed Portman in June.
Portman has been keeping Appalachia and Southeast Ohio in the center of discussion for the campaign. Soon after the endorsement came down, Strickland campaigned for two days in the region, which he represented in Congress for six terms. The race between the two is deadlocked with a little more than four months until election day. Portman leads by less than a percentage point (41-40.5 percent), according to the latest RealClearPolitics average.
