Portman's Amazing Journey Thus Far

When Rob Portman announced last year that he was running for the United States Senate, he said he would campaign in every one of Ohio's 88 counties. Well, on Friday, that milestone was reached! Along the way, Team Portman has hosted lunches with grassroots supporters, toured small businesses (some struggling, others doing OK), visited manufacturing plants, met with workers and working families, connected with small business owners, attended county fairs and spoken at numerous Lincoln dinners (upwards of 20 at last count) in an effort to learn about the various needs throughout a state as diverse as Ohio and to listen to people.

The packed travel schedule has not in any way slowed down the pace of fundraising. What is clear is that Ohioans are responding to Rob's positive, pro-growth message and rejecting the status quo that both Fisher and Brunner would enthusiastically support if they went to Washington.  (See Rasmussen polling charts here.)

Our initial concerns with Portman was a lack of  anything substantive to say about issues other than jobs or the economy, but we have noticed a modest increase in statements and positions being taken by Rob and the campaign, most recently, Portman issued this statement regarding the retirment of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens:

"Justice Stevens has honorably served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 35 years.  I wish him the best of luck in his retirement.  It is my hope that President Obama will nominate a jurist who does not have a record of legislating from the bench."

That last sentence gives us the first glimpse in to what Portman's judicial philosophy is and we at WMD encourage more of this type of issues-oriented thinking.

Make no mistake, Rob Portman is going to make a terrific United States Senator representing the good people of our great state and he will work hard on solutions for moving Ohio forward.