The Hill reports how Ted Strickland’s anti-coal connections could hurt his Senate bid:
Ted Strickland, Democrats’ top prospect to take on Ohio Sen. Rob Portman (R), is facing a litany of questions about his ties to the clean-energy industry that could weigh heavily on coal-country voters.
To prepare for a possible Senate bid, the former Ohio governor quietly stepped down last week from a senior role with the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank and advocacy group that has promoted a shift away from coal.
The Hill article also describes why these questions are so salient and damaging for Strickland:
Strickland has begun fundraising ahead of a likely 2016 run, and Republicans are already hitting Strickland on his ties to clean energy, accusing him of putting his allies ahead of blue-collar miners in Ohio’s southeastern coal country.
“He sets up programs that hurt part of Ohio, benefits his donors and down the line benefits himself. When he loses re-election he goes and lobbies for these industries that cost Ohio taxpayers thousands and thousands of dollars that he and his donors benefited from and were complete failures,” said Chris Schrimpf, spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party.
Ohioans don’t want Ted Strickland back in the Buckeye State.