A conservative policy group will hold its annual summit in Columbus this weekend, and it's getting a jump on the fall 2016 U.S. Senate race with a big TV ad buy. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.
"It was total devastation, and a lot of people found themselves in the same situation."
That's from the ad from Americans for Prosperity, which is backed by the conservative Koch brothers. AFP is spending more than a million dollars on TV ads targeting the Democrat who's leading in the polls, former Gov. Ted Strickland.
Deputy Director for AFP Ohio Baylor Miles said, "We want Ohioans to remember that it was Ted Strickland's failed leadership that really resulted in so much of what we saw during the recession."
But Strickland says the ad just covers up the special interest-favoring record of Republican US Sen. Rob Portman.
"I sort of take it as a compliment that I am running as strong as I am against an incumbent Senator," said Strickland.
But Strickland is way behind Portman in fundraising, and he also has a primary matchup against Cincinnati City Councilman PG Sittenfeld.