After Ohioans cast their vote for a presidential nominee the very next thing they’ll see on the ballot is a choice between Republican Senator Rob Portman and his challenger -- former Gov. Ted Strickland. This is a race that some believe just got a lot tighter.
A national forecast of the big election battles says Ohio went from a state that leaned Rob Portman’s way to being a toss-up.
Kyle Kondik is with Sabato’s Crystal Ball out of the University of Virginia’ Center for Politics. He says when the poll numbers for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump go down, so does Portman’s chances of winning.
“What we’ve seen in recent election cycles is that it’s getting harder and harder for down ballot candidates to separate themselves from the top of the ticket so if Trump were to lose Ohio by a significant amount he might also drag Portman down with him,” said Kondik.
He adds that more Democrats tend to turnout during presidential elections, another hurdle for Portman.
