As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Strickland “lashed out” at the unions that are supporting Portman.
All three organizations previously supported Ted Strickland in both 2006 and 2010. Strickland’s outburst follows an editorial from The Wheeling Intelligencer that recognized Portman as “an effective, reliable voice for working men and women.”
In case you missed it:
Strickland Criticizes Unions’ Decision to Endorse Portman in Ohio
Democrat Ted Strickland, the former Ohio governor who is challenging Republican Sen. Rob Portman, lashed out Thursday at the unions that are formally backing the sitting senator, saying that the endorsements were cooked up in order to win favor with a politician who could help their troubled pension plans.
The United Mine Workers of America last month endorsed Mr. Portman. This week, the Ohio Conference of Teamsters also issued an endorsement. The moves were unusual because labor unions typically back Democrats, and Mr. Strickland has strong ties to labor groups in his state.
The degree to which the endorsements are connected to the pension issue is unclear, but both union pensions are in bad shape and could benefit from legislation that the Ohio senator is backing. The Teamsters cited Mr. Portman’s work on pensions among the factors behind its endorsement. The mine workers cited his efforts to protect coal jobs.
“This is just a matter of Washington inside considerations–it has very little to do with anything that is going to happen in this election in Ohio,” Mr. Strickland told reporters after speaking to delegates attending this week’s Democratic convention.
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But Mr. Strickland said the unions’ decision to back Mr. Portman “was made in Washington, D.C.–it wasn’t made in southern Ohio. I can assure you of that.”
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