Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus Tuesday endorsed Ohio Sen. Rob Portman in his re-election bid, saying in a commercial that "Rob is the real deal."
"Ohio will always be my home," Nicklaus, 76, said in the 30-second spot. He was born in a suburb of Columbus. "I'm proud to be a Buckeye."
He asked voters to join him in supporting "my friend, Rob Portman" because "I'm worried about our country and our state.
"He's making a difference in standing up for American manufacturing and fighting to strengthen our military to keep us safe," Nicklaus said.
"Rob Portman is Ohio's champion."
Portman, 60, authored legislation with fellow Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown in May 2015 to award Nicklaus the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor from Congress to a U.S. citizen.
The Republican is seeking his second term — and he is facing former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign last week withdrew three weeks of commercials backing Strickland's campaign, Politico reports.
The move was tantamount to the Democratic Party essentially giving up on the race, which Portman is leading by 7.5 points according to the RealClearPolitics average of Ohio polls.
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