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Portman Hits Strickland on Coal in New TV Ad

Senate incumbent has used coal mining as an issue in previous ads

In a new ad that will run in parts of Ohio until Election Day, coal miners say they will vote for Sen. Rob Portman because Democratic opponent Ted Strickland "turned his back on us." (Courtesy Ron Portman for U.S. Senate)
In a new ad that will run in parts of Ohio until Election Day, coal miners say they will vote for Sen. Rob Portman because Democratic opponent Ted Strickland "turned his back on us." (Courtesy Ron Portman for U.S. Senate)

Sen. Rob Portman is appealing to Ohio coal miners in a new ad released Tuesday.

The minute-long television ad will go on the air in southeast Ohio from now until Election Day, according to Portman’s campaign. The ad is part of a $14 million statewide ad reservation that the Ohio Republican’s campaign announced in May.

[As Portman Launches Ad Touting Miner Endorsement, Pension Proponents See Progress]

In the latest ad, Portman ties his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Ted Strickland, to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama.

The ad opens with shots of Obama and Clinton, including a clip of Clinton from a March town hall, saying, “We are going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” Clinton later apologized for the comment.

The Portman campaign cited Strickland’s work for the left-leaning Center for American Progress as evidence that he is anti-coal.

[Koch Brothers-Backed Ad Hits Strickland With Clinton]

“Ted Strickland has turned his back on us,” a miner in the ad says. “Like a turncoat, he sided with Barack and Hillary when he went to Washington.”

Portman’s campaign has appealed to coal miners through three radio ads. Last week, Portman traversed Strickland’s former congressional district, visiting a coal mine there with GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.

The Koch brothers-backed Freedom Partners Action Fund went up with an ad last week that used the same Clinton sound bite in an anti-Strickland ad.

Portman was endorsed by the United Mine Workers in June.

Niels Lesniewski contributed to this report. 

Contact Bowman at bridgetbowman@rollcall.com and follow her on Twitter at @bridgetbhc.

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