ICYMI: Cleveland.com: GOP Senate Candidates Bash Infrastructure Bill Championed By the Senator They Want To Succeed
August 11, 2021
Columbus, OH — A new report from Cleveland.com gets every Ohio Republican U.S. Senate candidate on record trashing the bipartisan infrastructure deal that the senator they’re all vying to replace — Senator Rob Portman — helped to negotiate. The continued infighting among Republicans shows how messy this primary will continue to be as each candidate tries to out-Trump each other in a race to the bottom, leaving Ohio voters and their interests behind. These candidates will go so far as to oppose the legislation, supported by a majority of Americans, that would create good-paying jobs right here in Ohio just to appease Donald Trump and advance their own political agenda.
“Each of these Republican candidates is only concerned about one job — their own. These candidates would rather play politics than support an infrastructure deal that will create jobs for working Ohioans, invest in Ohio communities and keep our state moving forward. It’s just the latest example of why these Republican politicians can’t be trusted to look out for anyone’s interests but their own,” said Michael Beyer, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.
The bipartisan infrastructure deal would grow Ohio’s businesses by investing in roads, bridges, public transit, and broadband and help us compete with countries like China.
Read more from Cleveland.com HERE and below:
- The leading candidates in Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senate primary all have issued statements trashing the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Portman spent months negotiating and which passed the Senate Tuesday in a 69-30 vote, including support from 19 Republicans.
- They instead sided with Trump, who had been openly urging Republicans to vote against the bill, warning that Democrats would use it to their advantage at election time.
- Polling has shown the bill to be popular with the American public, with Quinnipiac University finding last week that 65% of respondents supported it, although 54% of Republicans said they opposed it.
- He [Portman] said the bill will bring Ohio $9.8 billion for federal-aid highway assistance, including $483 million of formula funds for bridge replacements, as well as funding for mass transit and broadband internet.
- Portman issued a statement Tuesday with Republican and Democratic senators who led negotiations on the bill describing the legislation in grandiose terms, calling it a “historic victory for the American people” that will “modernize and upgrade our roads, bridges, ports, and other key infrastructure assets.”