Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman is clearly not taking re-election for granted, and he has the money to do a whole lot of not taking it for granted.
The Ohio Republican is launching a shock and awe campaign that plows $14 million into statewide television advertising and $1 million into YouTube programming, a total that former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) may struggle to match. Portman is one of the most prodigious fundraisers in the country and had $13.4 million on hand at the end of March, while Strickland had $2.7 million.
The Koch brothers are already spending against Strickland, but Strickland is still keeping pace with Portman, according to a recent poll from PPP which shows the race tied at 38 percent. One big challenge for Portman will be that Ohio voters want to see the Senate vote on Merrick Garland, President Obama’s choice to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, and Portman is part of the Republican blockade against such a vote.