Cleveland.com reports what Rob Portman’s campaign manager, Corry Bliss, is saying about Strickland:
"Ohio workers deserve so much more than what Ted Strickland delivered as governor. While Rob Portman fights every day to expand opportunity for Ohio workers, Ted Strickland’s tenure as governor saw hundreds of thousands of job losses that rocked local communities all over the state. And our campaign looks forward to discussing the contrast between the kind of future Ohioans deserve and the difficult past when Ohio struggled under Strickland."
It’s not just the Portman campaign that recognizes Strickland’s weak candidacy. Brent Larkin, former editorial director of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, also blasts Strickland’s electability:
A party that trots out a 73-year-old man with an uncommonly vulnerable record as its candidate for a precious U.S. Senate seat is a party with problems.
Worse yet would be if that senior citizen was unfortunate enough to serve one term as governor during a period when Ohio lost nearly 400,000 jobs.
Yet that’s exactly where Democrats seem to be headed as former Gov. Ted Strickland announced this week he will challenge Republican Sen. Rob Portman in next year’s election.
Many observers, and even some Democrats, are down on Strickland’s campaign. One of the reasons for this pessimism is the incumbent’s popularity and strength.
Dr. Jason Johnson, a political science professor at Ohio’s Hiram College, explains that Rob Portman has the clear edge over Retread Ted.
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I don’t know if there is that much political space for Ted Strickland to come in and knock out Rob Portman. Portman is the incumbent, he is reasonably popular, and Ted Strickland is not a great campaigner.
Ohio newspapers have also criticized Strickland’s chances of winning, and his record. Watch this short video to learn more.
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Rob Portman is a commonsense conservative with a strong record of serving all Ohioans. Strickland is fighting a losing battle.