Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Will Trump Supporters Still Support Portman?

Statehouse News Bureau
Tom Zawistowski

Some Republican Party leaders have been denouncing Presidential candidate Donald Trump since a tape revealing his lewd talk about sexual assault came out this weekend. But some of Trump’s supporters are firing back.

Northeast Ohio Tea Party leader Tom Zawistowski has long been a backer of Trump in this presidential race and says, for him and for many other Tea Partiers, that hasn’t changed.

“We never supported Donald Trump because we shared his values. We support Donald Trump because we share our issues.”

Zawistowski says his group was ready to support Sen. Rob Portman until he pulled his support from Trump this weekend. Now, Zawistowski says his members plan to vote against Portman.

“If he won’t support Donald Trump now, how will he support the changes demanded by us, the voters, through our support of Trump when he’s back in Washington?”

A Quinnipiac Poll released last week shows Portman is 17 points ahead of his Democratic challenger, former Governor Ted Strickland.

Contact Jo Ingles at jingles@statehousenews.org.
Related Content