Former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland made a stop in Lima this afternoon to meet with local United Auto Workers. As he seeks to become Ohio's next U.S. Senator, Strickland highlighted the differences between himself and Senator Rob Portman. Strickland says he fought for the auto rescue to help provide relief to the auto industry, while Portman called it a "lousy deal for Ohio". He also says he is more interested in fighting for the working class people than Senator Portman.
"It's not just the auto industry. It's all kinds of other issues that separate me from Senator Portman. i mean I come from working people. He came from a wealthy environment. He has supported every bad trade deal that we've entered into, and I've opposed every bad trade deal. I call him the best Senator that China's ever had," Strickland said.
He says Portman supports the North American Free Trade Agreement and has voted multiple times to grant China special trade status.
Portman's camp sent this response to Strickland talk:
"As Ted already knows, while he wasn’t in the Senate at the time, Rob has consistently said he would have supported the auto rescue but would have pushed for improvements to protect the auto plants and dealerships in Ohio that shut down during Governor Strickland’s tenure," said Portman Campaign Spokesperson Michawn Rich.
