Ohio Sen. Rob Portman released a new ad Tuesday featuring representatives of a steel company who thank Portman for pushing to keep duties in place against steel imports from China in 2013.
Representatives of Byer Steel say Portman’s work helped protect American jobs which otherwise might not be around if dumping duties were lifted.
“China is doing things to create an unfair playing field. The threat to American manufacturing is real, Rob Portman gets that. If he didn’t help put in tariffs against China, we would not be in business today,” says Burke Byer, the head of Byer Steel. “The reason we have 90 employees is because Rob gave us at least another fighting chance.”
“Rob Portman is absolutely fighting for the American worker,” he added. At issue were anti-dumping duties that were undergoing a sunset review, but were kept in place by the government. Portman was one of 14 senators who urged the International Trade Commission to keep the duties in place in a one-page letter.
The ad is a shift in focus for Portman’s campaign, which has been centering their attacks against former Gov. Ted Strickland after the United Mine Workers backed the incumbent Republican. Specifically, they targeted Southeast Ohio and Strickland’s work against the coal industry as part of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, which he headed after losing reelection for governor in 2010.
The ad, which the campaign is putting $1 million behind, will run statewide for two weeks starting on Wednesday. It’s also the latest part of the campaign’s $15 million ad buy they announced in late May.
For now, Portman and Strickland are deadlocked in their general election battle. According to the latest RealClearPolitics average, Portman leads by less than a point (41-40.5 percent) over the former governor.
