The Ohio Democratic Party is hitting Republican Sen. Rob Portman for supporting Donald Trump’s presidential bid, saying he is putting politics above the needs of the state.
The Democrats released a new ad that attacks Portman’s support for Trump and spotlights Republicans doing the same statewide.
“Rob Portman. Putting politics over Ohio. Again,” reads font onscreen in the ad after showing Portman proclaiming his support for the presumptive GOP nominee.
Trump’s favorability rating is 37 percentage points underwater in RealClearPolitics average of polls, and the Washington Post said Trump will need to engineer a “miracle” to overcome his unpopularity.
While several Republicans have avoided talking about Trump, Portman represents the state housing this summer’s GOP convention and has been confronted with the issue in the way that others have not.
Republicans’ support for Trump and their willingness to serve with Trump could become a defining issue in the November elections. Interest in Trump’s candidacy has attracted the entertainment media to pursue Republican politicians with questions about Trump, such as when TMZ chased down South Dakota Sen. John Thune at an airport.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, the top-ranking elected Republican in the country, has said he’s not ready to support Trump and will meet with the GOP’s presumptive nominee on Thursday. Ryan will be weighing how the Republican conference should handle its response to Trump’s candidacy, and the media circus surrounding it, to maintain its majority in November.
