More news out of Ohio today:
Senate Majority PAC has purchased about $850,000 worth of cable and broadcast ad time in Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton, according to group spokesman Shripal Shah. The PAC plans to start running the ads for about two weeks starting Tuesday, Shah stated in an email.
The 30-second spot labels Portman a "Washington insider" who has been "siding with the rich and powerful for decades" and has backed NAFTA and Social Security privatization. Portman is running for a second term against Democratic nominee Ted Strickland, a former governor.
Portman campaign spokesperson Michawn Rich replied in an email that "The true D.C. insider in the race is Ted Strickland," noting that he became a D.C. lobbyist after losing the 2010 gubernatorial race and recently touted the fact that he ran for Congress starting in the 1970s.
The ad also labels Portman a "lobbyist"– renewing a long-simmering argument over whether that's true.
As a young lawyer in the 1980s, Portman was part of a team that lobbied on behalf of the duty-free retailers and filed a lobbying registration form stating that he "may be engaged in performance of legal and related services."
We need to keep these ads on the air, especially with Ted Strickland (D. OH) being a top target of the Koch Brothers:
But even if the Kochs have stayed out of the presidential race thus far, they’re not out of politics altogether: According to its most recent FEC filing, the Kochs’ primary political organ, Freedom Partners Action Fund, contributed $100,000 to a group supporting the gubernatorial campaign of West Virginia Senate President Bill Cole. Freedom Partners also spent $1.8 million opposing the senate campaign of former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, a Democrat, who is running against the Republican incumbent Rob Portman.
“We’re not going to get in any campaign where we believe that we can’t make a difference,” (Charles) Koch said.
Click here to donate and get involved with Strickland’s campaign.