Ohio Sen. Rob Portman Robert (Rob) Jones PortmanMcConnell locks down key GOP votes in Supreme Court fight Romney undecided on authorizing subpoenas for GOP Obama-era probes Congress needs to prioritize government digital service delivery MORE’s (R) campaign will begin running ads this week using Democratic rival Ted Strickland’s controversial remarks about late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia against him.



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The Portman campaign has cut a radio ad that will run statewide seeking to highlight remarks Strickland made this week about how Scalia’s death “happened at a good time.”“In February, America lost a titan,” the ad states. “The son of an immigrant, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia worked his way up from a junior lawyer in a Cleveland law firm to the nation’s highest court on the basis of his character, work ethic and intellect. But listen to what politician Ted Strickland had to say about Scalia’s sudden death.”The ad then cuts to Strickland saying: “I don't wish anyone ill, but it happened at a good time.”“D.C. insider Ted Strickland has become so political he’ll joke about a tragedy because he thinks it benefits liberals politically and will help them take away our Second Amendment rights and impose job-killing regulations on our economy,” the narrator continues. “Ted Strickland is everything that’s wrong with Washington. “Speaking at an AFL-CIO event in Cleveland this week, Strickland warned about what apresidency would mean for the balance of power on the Supreme Court, and labor unions in particular."A lot of average citizens out there don’t understand the importance of that court. I mean, the death of Scalia saved labor from a terrible decision," Strickland said."And I don’t wish anyone ill, but it happened at a good time, because once that decision had been made, it would have been tough to reverse it.”Following Scalia’s death this year, the Supreme Court handed a victory to labor unions when it split in a 4-4 decision. It is believed that Scalia would have cast the deciding vote to roll back state laws requiring some public-sector workers to pay union fees.Strickland has apologized for the remarks, but Republicans have sought to make them a campaign issue in the battleground state.Democratleads Trump nearly 3 points in Ohio in the presidential race, according to the RealClearPolitics average.But Portman has been running well ahead of the GOP ticket there and leads Strickland by 6.4 in the RCP average.