LIMA — U.S. Senate candidate Ted Strickland continued his “Ohio is Not for Sale” tour on Tuesday with a stop at the Democratic headquarters in downtown Lima.
During the visit, Strickland thanked volunteers, highlighted how he plans to fight for the working class of Ohio and railed against the policy positions of his Republican rival U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, as well as presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The campaign stop came one week before voters head to the polls on election day. Portman, R-Ohio, holds a substantial lead over his Democratic challenger, according to average polling data from realclearpolitics.com. As of Tuesday afternoon, Portman was polling at 51.3 percent, compared to Strickland’s 36.8 percent. The remaining 11.9 percent of voters are split among Green Party candidate Joseph DeMare, as well as independent candidates Thomas William Connors and Scott Rupert.
Despite low polling numbers and the tens of millions of dollars spent against him by his political rivals, Strickland seemed confident in his ability to take the Senate.
“I know they spent a lot of money against me, but I think people power is more powerful than money,” Strickland said. “If we can just get people out to vote, that will make a big difference.”
Strickland said he is taking more of a “grassroots approach” to the campaign, reaching out to voters in every corner of the state. He said he’s traveled 68,000 miles in the last 17 months, meeting with constituents and volunteers like those who are working at the Democratic HQ in Lima.
In contrast, Strickland said his opponent is relying on “out-of-state billionaires” who have spent $60 million in ad campaigns against him. He said these billionaires are using their wealth to control the senators they wish to see elected.
“They can control Rob Portman — they own him,” he said. “They don’t own me.”
Strickland also touted his working class roots, saying he will fight for the average American worker.
“The investor class, the bankers, the hedge fund managers, the Wall Streeters — they can take care of themselves,” he said. “But I want to be someone who is fighting for students, for seniors, for women. That’s what I want to fight for in the Senate — the people who actually use their hands and work for a living.”
Strickland said there is a “big difference” between Portman and himself, especially when it comes to women’s issues, health care, senior citizen issues and education. He said he is an advocate of pay equity for women, a woman’s right to choose and college loan refinancing, and is against the privatization of Social Security and raising the retirement age.
He added that he and Portman do not see eye-to-eye on any of these issues.
“Sen. Portman and I have differences of opinion — that doesn’t mean he’s a bad person — but I think he has the wrong ideas about what working people need,” he said.
Michawn Rich, Portman’s campaign spokesperson, said the Republican candidate supports equal pay for equal work, and that it is wrong for a woman to be paid less. She said he has voted for paycheck fairness, and he is a co-sponsor of Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s equal pay legislation.
Rich added that Portman has never voted to privatize Social Security, and does not support it. She said he has also offered solutions to keep college affordable by increasing access to college credits for high school students, strengthening college savings accounts and lowering student loan rates.
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