Ohio's moderate Republican senator, Rob Portman, has thrown his support behind Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel for U.S. Senate.
In a video posted early Wednesday morning, Portman urged Republicans in the battleground state to unify behind Mandel as he makes a second consecutive run to unseat Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown.
Portman said Mandel, 39, is a Marine veteran and a fiscal conservative who he could work with "to get this economy moving again, to fight for more jobs and higher wages, and to restore America's leadership role in the world."
Portman's backing came about a week after Republican U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, a potential formidable rival to Mandel, announced he wouldn't seek the Senate seat.
The senator's early support could deter other GOP challengers -- including Republican state officeholders lining up in a crowded governor's race -- and allow Mandel to target all of his resources to fighting Brown. His supporters already have launched a super PAC to support him that can raise and spend unlimited amounts from undisclosed donors, signaling another expensive and negative contest likely is ahead.
It’s always been anticipated that Mandel would be Brown’s likely opponent again and Portman is trying to consolidate Republican support early. The GOP would love to unseat Brown, a progressive populist, especially after Trump won Ohio last year. But Brown hasn’t been shy about resisting Trump’s agenda and he’s ripping Trump a new one on this:
On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) criticized President Trump’s proposed budget for cutting or maintaining current levels of federal funding for various programs working to address the opioid epidemic, even as opioid overdose deaths continue to rise.
Under President Trump’s proposed budget, programs within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration face nearly $400 million in cuts, while initiatives such as the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant are not increasing despite urgent need.
“The opioid epidemic has touched every Ohio community, and the Administration must start treating this issue as the crisis that it is,” said Brown. “Individuals and families struggling with addiction need a meaningful commitment from their elected leaders, but instead, the Administration has chosen to undercut the efforts of Ohio communities to tackle this epidemic. I will continue to work with colleagues in Congress, as well as state and local partners, to secure the necessary resources for individuals and families to get the treatment that they need.”
Earlier this month, Brown released a statement in response to reports that the Trump Administration planned to significantly cut the budget for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. While the Administration, after criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, reversed course on many of the proposed cuts, the budget still proposes to cut funding for the high-intensity drug trafficking program and the drug free community program under the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Brown has worked with members of both parties to secure federal resources and address the opioid crisis in Ohio communities.
Earlier this month, Brown announced more than $160 million in federal resources to combat the opioid crisis in states like Ohio that have been hardest hit by the epidemic as part of the government funding package agreed to in April. The President’s budget proposes to cut or flat fund many of these programs.
In April, Brown announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released $26 million in grant funding to Ohio to bolster efforts to combat the opioid epidemic after he joined Senate colleagues in a letter to President Trump calling for the release of critical resources that have been designated to address the nation’s opioid epidemic.
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