Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, has begun taking swings at Democrats who hope to defeat him by making trade a key issue on the campaign trail.
Portman’s campaign is launching a week-long digital ad campaign targeting former Gov. Ted Strickland’s economic record, and highlights the 350,000 jobs that left Ohio during Strickland’s term in office. A memo from Corey Bliss, Portman’s campaign manager, said the ads would show the likely Democratic challenger’s “hypocrisy on trade and his awful record on jobs and the economy.”
Ohio Democrats have targeted Portman’s support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is the Obama administration’s proposed trade deal among 12 nations. Portman was a U.S. trade representative in President George W. Bush’s administration.
Strickland has drawn battle lines over the TPP and told National Journal last week that he planned to make it a defining issue in the Senate race. “Advocates like to frame this as a trade issue,” Strickland said. “The more accurate way to describe it is a jobs-outsourcing issue.”
Ohio Democrats appear comfortable opposing President Obama’s action on trade because they may think a more populist tone will resonate with voters of all stripes. Portman, who is seeking his second term in the Senate, trailed Strickland by nine points in a Quinnipiac poll released last month. Portman’s direct response to Strickland’s attacks suggests he could be spoiling for a fight with the GOP incumbent over the issue of trade.
