Portman ad ties Dem Strickland to Clinton coal comments

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is tying his Democratic opponent to Hillary Clinton’s widely criticized statement about putting “coal miners and coal companies out of business.”

A new television ad released Tuesday, calls former Gov. Ted Strickland (D) a “turncoat” who worked with President Obama and Clinton during his time running a think tank in Washington. 

{mosads}“They want to put us good-working, hard-working coal miners out of jobs,” a miner says in the ad. 

The spot is designed to appeal to coal miners and their allies in Ohio, where companies operate dozens of mines near the state’s eastern border. 

Clinton said in March that as president she would institute environmental policies that would favor renewable energy and be detrimental to coal production, though she later apologized for saying she would put miners out of work. 

She and other Democrats have said they want to help economically distressed coal communities. But Republicans, the coal industry and miner unions have looked to use the remark against Democrats. 

In June, the United Mine Workers of America endorsed Portman in his race, saying he has helped “both active and retired coal miners and their families” as a senator. 

Ohio’s Senate race is one of the most-watched in the country, though polling shows Portman with a consistent edge over Strickland. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Senate Majority PAC said this week they will delay or cancel television advertising in the state.