New ad labels Portman ‘Trump’s man in Ohio’

by Lisa Hagen - 05/17/16 11:16 AM ET

A liberal super-PAC is targeting Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-Ohio) support for Donald Trump in a new video.

American Bridge 21st Century’s ad, shared first with The Hill, alternates between controversial remarks from the presumptive GOP presidential nominee and clips of Portman saying he’ll support him.

{mosads}The ad ends by calling Portman “Trump’s man in Ohio” and showing a graphic of the two high-fiving. It will run all week on social media in Ohio.

Portman faces a tough reelection bid against former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D).

“Donald Trump has proven himself to be unfit to be president, repeatedly making sexist and derogatory remarks and pushing misguided economic policies that will put American jobs at risk,” American Bridge president Jessica Mackler said in a statement.

“But that hasn’t deterred Senator Rob Portman from putting politics over Ohio voters and fully embracing the Party of Trump.”

Now that Trump is the presumptive nominee, Democrats have been quick to tie their Republican opponents to the controversial real estate mogul. And vulnerable GOP incumbents and candidates have been walking a tightrope over whether to support or distance themselves from Trump.

Portman recently said Trump’s candidacy is a potential “positive” because so many voters came out during the Ohio GOP primary “to vote for Donald Trump who had never voted for a Republican before,” The Columbus Dispatch reported.

But the GOP senator has had to fend off rumors that Trump could consider him as a running mate, a job he says he has no interest in.

Portman has an uphill battle in a swing state that was won by President Obama in 2008 and 2012.

The senator has a huge cash advantage over Strickland, but a poll from the left-leaning Public Policy Polling found the two are tied, and a Quinnipiac University survey found Strickland with a 1-point lead.

Tags American Bridge Donald Trump Rob Portman