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High Profile Democrats Go On The Attack

Jo Ingles
L-R Former DNC Chair, former U.S. Senator and former Presidential candidate Howard Dean, Former Ohio Governor and U.S. Senate Candidate Ted Strickland

The former chairman of the Democratic National Committee played the role of attack dog when speaking to reporters in Columbus earlier today.

Former Vermont Governor and Senator and former DNC chair Howard Dean didn’t hold back when talking about Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

“We don’t need a lunatic as the president of the United States.”

Dean, who was campaigning with former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, called Trump and Republican U.S. Senator Rob Portman “fat cats” who work against the interests of working Ohioans. When Strickland, a former prison psychologist, was asked if he agreed with Dean’s assessment of Trump, he was more measured in his response.

“I don’t want to get psychiatrically engaged with him but I have no real problem in saying he is woefully inadequate, incompetent and unfit to be the president of this country.”

But Dean and Strickland both said Portman’s support of Trump should be questioned, especially some other top Republican office holders in Ohio are not endorsing Trump. In a written statement, Michawn Rich with the Portman campaign accused Strickland of trying to hide the fact that Ohio lost more than 350,000 jobs when he was Governor. Rich said, “Other than breathing and occasionally wandering out in public, it is unclear what Ted Strickland brings to this race as his campaign has no money, no grassroots support, and the worst record of any Senate candidate in America.”

Contact Jo Ingles at jingles@statehousenews.org.