Ohio Democrat hits Strickland over debates

Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld is using a new TV ad to criticize former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, suggesting he’s refusing to debate him in their Democratic Senate primary. 

“I’ve called on Ted Strickland to step up and join me in a series of debates. Unfortunately, he’s refused. It’s time to debate reducing income inequality, cutting the cost of college, stopping gun violence and fighting climate change,” he says in the ad. 

{mosads}Sittenfeld is running an uphill battle against Strickland, who is the favorite to face Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) in the general election next November. 

The ad, titled “Step Up,” is one of two TV ads the campaign released Tuesday. In the second ad, Sittenfeld takes aim at Portman and Strickland’s ties to Washington, saying that “it’s time for change.”

“My opponents have spent nearly a combined four decades in Washington. It’s time for change,” he says. “It’s time for a new generation of leadership to tackle tough problems, like the crushing burden of student loan debt.” 

The campaign also released the first TV ad of the Ohio Senate race on Monday. The three ads will run around Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential primary. 

Sittenfeld’s campaign declined to disclose how much it spent on three ads. Sittenfeld Communications Director Dale Butland, however, described them a “medium-sized buy” that will air across the state in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Dayton and Youngstown. 

Sittenfeld raised $229,000 in the third quarter, and had $784,000 cash on hand as of Sept. 30, according to the campaign.

None of the ads mention Sittenfeld’s record on Cincinnati’s city council, instead focusing on broader policy issues including cutting student loan debt, reducing gun violence and combatting climate change.

Eighty-six percent of Ohio voters don’t know enough about Sittenfeld to have an opinion of his candidacy, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this month.

The campaign, however, is hoping they’ll be able to tap into the Democratic voters tuning into Tuesday’s presidential primary debate, and build pressure on Strickland to agree to their proposal for primary debates.

Butland added that “if Hillary Clinton is wiling to debate her opponents, Ted Strickland should be willing to debate his.” 

“If a series of debates between our party’s five presidential candidates is a good thing, how could a series of debates between Ohio’s two Democratic Senate candidates possibly be a bad thing?” he said in a statement.