![]() ![]() Obama campaigned on the former governor's behalf and chastised Portman's last-minute decision. Strickland hammered Portman for the delay. Still, Portman mulled the decision for a day before announcing that he would write in vice presidential candidate Mike Pence's name instead – a vote that would not count under Ohio election law. The final straw was an 11-year-old video that showed Trump bragging about groping and kissing women. While Strickland relied on a coordinated campaign between Hillary Clinton and Ohio Democrats, Trump's campaign was frequently at odds with the Ohio Republican Party and was slow to open campaign offices across the state.Īfter months of supporting the Republican choice, Portman rescinded his endorsement of Trump. Portman's preparation and fundraising paid off in the Party of Trump. Democrats, meanwhile, spent a lot of time trying to pin Portman to the man he had endorsed. They never appeared together at a campaign event, and Portman disavowed some of Trump's more divisive comments. Still, Portman spent much of his campaign ignoring the presidential nominee as best he could. ![]() Neither prevailed, so Portman endorsed the Republican nominee: Trump. Jeb Bush despite Portman's allegiances to the Bush family. ![]() In the GOP presidential primary, Portman endorsed fellow Ohioan Kasich over former Florida Gov. The National Rifle Association alone spent more in the Ohio Senate race than in all other Congressional races combined. Outside groups spent millions on his campaign. His campaign recruited a legion of teenage and college-aged volunteers who made thousands of calls. So, Portman raised money and micro-targeted voters based on their region and interests. And that was before Donald Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination. In 2016, he was campaigning statewide during a presidential year for the first time. In 2010, he rode a wave of GOP discontent with President Barack Obama to victory. Portman knew 2016 would be his toughest race to date. Much of that job loss and high unemployment was outside of Strickland's control, but the message was effective for voters with long memories. And the ads were relentless: Ask any Ohioan how much money was left in the rainy day fund, and they could probably tell you 89 cents. The Republican senator also benefited from latent anti-Strickland sentiments from the recession and a close 2010 campaign with Gov. Portman focused on effort to tackle Ohio's heroin problem and address human trafficking - two issues that won him support from women and some Democrats. Without knowing the results of the presidential race or the balance of the Senate, Portman struck a unifying tone in his acceptance speech: "There will never be a better moment than now to stop the dysfunction in Washington and find that common ground." He entered to his victory party to cheers of "Rob, Rob, Rob." "Together, we’ve waged a great campaign. We came from behind and finished strong," Portman told supporters Tuesday night in Columbus. In the final weeks of the campaign, Strickland was airing television ads in just two major markets: Columbus and Cleveland. In late August, national Democrats started pulling money from Strickland's election bid in Ohio, and they never stopped. He took the lead in late June and never let it go. Portman ran a nearly flawless campaign despite early troubles with name recognition. Portman was relatively unknown outside of Southwest Ohio when the race began, but blanketing the state in advertisements solved that problem. Portman had the money to do it. Senate, thanks to Strickland and losses in other states. Democrats initially targeted Portman's seat as one they could pick up in their effort to take control of the U.S. The race was called as Ohio's polls closed at 7:30 p.m. Rob Portman easily won reelection over Democratic former Gov. COLUMBUS - In a year of uncertainty and turmoil for Republicans, Sen. ![]()
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