Donald Trump can win in Ohio, as many of the issues he counts as strengths are important to the state's voters, Sen. Rob Portman said Thursday.
"The top issue in Ohio will continue to be jobs and the economy," the Ohio Republican told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" host Bill Hemmer. "How do you get wages up? You see higher expenses particularly with regard to healthcare. A lot of this is related to Obamacare and how it hasn't worked."
There are other issues as well, including with the military "as the issue of terrorism is on people's mind," said Portman. In addition, Ohio has been hit hard with the heroin and prescription drug abuse epidemic, he said.
"I use the word epidemic because it's affecting every community and we are losing people to overdoses at record levels," said the senator.
Meanwhile, the race is running very closely in Ohio and is even tied according to some polls, including a
Quinnipiac University survey released this week that put Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton at a 41-41 percent tie.
"It's a purple state," said Portman. "Ohio chose the president in 2000 and 2004. The independent voters, the so-called swing voters are the ones who make the difference. If you focus on what people care about, you have ideas. And people are looking for solutions."
However, Gov. John Kasich, the last candidate to drop out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination, has not endorsed Trump, and Portman said he does not know if the governor will change his mind.
"John is doing a terrific job as governor," said Portman. "I supported him for president. I [now] support our nominee, Donald Trump who won fair and square. John Kasich is the most popular elected official in Ohio because he got things done."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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