All three organizations previously endorsed Ted Strickland in both 2006 and 2010.
READ MORE from the Cincinnati Enquirer:
Union support for Portman ignites Dems fears in Ohio
Democrats in Ohio, Washington and Philadelphia seemed knocked back on their heels Tuesday, after Republican incumbent Sen. Rob Portman snagged back-to-back endorsements from major labor unions.
The Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, the state’s largest law enforcement union, endorsed Portman on Tuesday over former Gov. Ted Strickland, in Ohio’s tight U.S. Senate race. Just 24 hours earlier, Portman also snapped up the support of the Ohio Conference of Teamsters—a union that typically endorses Democrats.
The surprise union support for Portman, a Chamber of Commerce Republican not traditionally allied with labor, fueled a growing concern among Democrats that Strickland’s campaign is losing ground just as voters begin to tune in.
“Strickland is running the oddest campaign,” said Steve Fought, a Democratic consultant in Ohio who used to work for Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo. Fought and others said the Teamsters’ support for Portman is “a real blow” to Strickland, and it adds to the perception that Strickland is running a lackluster campaign.
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Strickland has lagged far behind Portman in fundraising, raising about $2 million in the second quarter of 2016 and closing June with $4 million cash on hand.
Portman raised almost double that in the second quarter—raking in $3.8 million—and ended the quarter with more than $13 million in the bank.
“Without question (Strickland’s) fundraising is not where it needs to be,” said one national Democratic strategist involved in Senate races who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be more candid. “There is a growing level of frustration that if the campaign doesn’t turn things around, they’re not going to be successful.”
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Caleb Faux, executive director of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, conceded that it hurts for Democrats to lose union endorsements as Strickland did this week.
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