Portman ad blitz focuses on his work to combat heroin epidemic
Sen. Rob Portman’s Ohio re-election campaign will unleash its first television ad blitz Wednesday — three different spots highlighting the GOP senator’s work on legislation to combat the heroin epidemic.
Two of the ads feature testimonials from Ohioans on the front lines of the addiction crisis. In the third, Portman speaks directly to the camera about his Senate-passed bill to beef up treatment and prevention.
Two things the ads don’t mention: Portman’s party affiliation and his Democratic foe, former governor Ted Strickland.
Portman’s campaign says the ads will run statewide, the first wave in a $15 million TV tsunami the campaign plans to unleash before the November election.
One of Portman’s biggest challenges in the Ohio race is low name recognition, and these ads are clearly aimed at introducing the first-term senator to voters across the state with a warm and fuzzy image.
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A recent Quinnipiac University Poll found that 42% of registered Ohio voters didn’t know enough about Portman to expression an opinion, compared with 31% who said that about Strickland.
That poll also showed the Portman-Strickland match-up as a virtual tie, with 43% of Ohio voters supporting Strickland and 42% supporting Portman.