Super-PAC targets Portman on trade

A major Democratic super-PAC launched a new TV ad in Ohio on Tuesday, hitting Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-Ohio) trade record amid this week’s Republican National Convention.

{mosads}The Senate Majority PAC, run by allies of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), released its second ad of a $2.5 million campaign in the Buckeye State. The spot will run on both cable and broadcast statewide.

The 30-second spot, titled “Embassy,” highlights Portman’s votes on a number of trade deals and accuses the support of these deals for Ohio’s job loss.

Portman was U.S. trade representative under former President George W. Bush.

The ad features a man in a suit riding a Segway from China’s embassy in Washington, D.C., saying that they’re “probably giving Rob Portman an award for being China’s best senator.”

Portman will square off against Democrat Ted Strickland in what is expected to be one of the most competitive and expensive races this cycle.

“Throughout his career Rob Portman has repeatedly supported the kinds of trade policies that have cost Ohio hundreds of thousands of jobs,” said Senate Majority PAC spokesman Shripal Shah. “That kind of history might make him a favorite of China, but it’s wrong for Ohio.”

Senate Majority PAC launched its first spot of this ad campaign earlier this month that targets the GOP senator for his ties to Wall Street.

Portman’s campaign has previously pushed back on other Senate Majority PAC ads that have targeted his record. They have attacked Strickland for job losses in the state, saying Ohio lost “more than 350,000 jobs, many to other states or outsourcing an Ohio call center to El Salvador.”

Most vulnerable GOP senators are skipping this week’s convention, but Portman is attending the gathering in his home state and has been holding his own campaign events, which started on Monday. 

In an average of RealClearPolitics polling, Portman has less than a 3-point edge over the former Ohio governor, and some recent surveys show the race in a dead heat. But the senator has continued to outpace Strickland in every fundraising quarter and has a significant cash advantage.