Ted Strickland is feeling good
Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.
(Associated Press file)
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland launched his campaign for U.S. Senate with immediate and blistering criticism of the man he wants to challenge, Republican incumbent Sen. Rob Portman, whom he called "a Washington insider" looking "after the interests of the powerful and the privileged."
Strickland, by contrast, said he would be a voice for Ohio's working families.
"I think the country's facing some serious challenges, and I think Ohio needs a senator who is in Washington fighting his heart out for the people of Ohio, the working people of Ohio," Strickland, a Democrat, said in a telephone interview with the Northeast Ohio Media Group this morning, soon after announcing that he will run. He called from Columbus. "And because of my background, my experience, where I came from, the values that I have, I just think that I'm the guy that's prepared to do this," he said.
"I think Sen. Portman is a Washington insider, and I think he looks after the interests of the powerful and the privileged, and I don't think he looks after the interests of the working people of the state of Ohio," Strickland, a single-term governor defeated by John Kasich in 2010, said. "I think if you look at his record, that's fairly clear. He's always on the side of those who are already well-off, already well to do. He's the senator for the priviledged class. And I want to be the senator for the working folks."
Asked to be specific, Strickland said, "Let's just talk about supporting the minimum wage increase," which Portman opposed. "Let's just talk about the issue of taxes and who is going to benefit from the kind of tax policy that is enacted in Washington, D.C.
"Let's just talk about the auto industry and its importance to Oho and how important it was to have me as governor, (and) Sherrod Brown as senator, really standing up for the auto industry when it was on its knees. And look what's happened: Ohio and the nation are benefiting as a result of the thriving auto industry."
Portman and Strickland hold opposing views on a number of economic and regulatory issues, and a campaign with those two will quickly highlight their differences. Portman says wages can rise and employment can grow in an economic and political environment of lower taxes and less burdensome regulation on businesses. He and other Republicans accuse Strickland and other Democrats of wanting a top-down system of government with federal edicts.
Portman issued a statement saying, "I welcome Governor Strickland back to Ohio and look forward to a candid exchange of ideas during this critical time for so many in our state. The coming months will give Ohioans an opportunity to contrast my vision for a better future for Ohio workers with his past tenure as governor when hundreds of thousands of jobs disappeared from our state.
"I'll continue fighting every day to expand opportunities for all Ohioans, working with both parties to reduce barriers to job growth and to create better paying jobs," Portman said. "Ohio families deserve a senator who will fight for their future and they can't afford to go backward with Governor Strickland."
Portman's campaign operation also launched a website characterizing Strickland as a political retread. "Ted Strickland would take Ohio backward," says the opening headline on the "Retread Ted" site.
Strickland will be 75 on election day 2016. Another Democrat in the primary race, Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, will be 32. Portman will be 60.
Asked about his age and his health, Strickland said, "I'm ready to do this work. I think the people of Ohio know my commitment to them and especially the working folks of this state. I'm ready for this. I'm energized by it, and I'm going to take a run with gusto, and I intend to win."
Strickland said he has not spoken with Sittenfeld in the last 24 hours but has talked with him repeatedly over recent weeks and months. He did not directly predict that Sittenfeld will drop out or that there will be no Democratic primary in the race, but he left that impression, saying that "this will work itself out."
"I feel confident that I am going to emerge as the Democratic nominee, and my focus is on defeating Sen. Portman and giving Ohio a second voice in the Congress and in the Senate for, as I said, the people that really make up the heart and soul of the state of Ohio. Just good folks who want a fair deal.
"And the cards are stacked against working people," Strickland said. "The system is rigged. What's happened to the working middle class with stagnant wages and a growing income gap between the super rich and average people is not an accident. It's a result of policies that have been pursued in Washington, D.C.
"And I want to go there and change those policies and make sure that the working people of our state have a strong voice."
Asked if a desire to run for Senate factored into his decision not to challenge Kasich's second-term reelection in 2014, Strickland said, "No. I've always appreciated Sen. Sherrod Brown's work in the Senate and thought I'd like to be up there helping him carry out his work for the middle class and working families, but it was not something that factored into my decision regarding whether or not to run for governor."
Plain Dealer politics writer Henry J. Gomez contributed to this story.