Today, Ted Strickland has announced that he is going to run for Ohio’s Senate seat in 2016. What Strickland won’t be talking about though is how he failed Ohio when he served as Governor. Some facts about Strickland’s not so great tenure:
- Ohio lost over 370,000 jobs during Strickland’s time as Governor.
- Ohio’s unemployment rate increased by 3.7 percent under Strickland.
- In 2008, Fitch downgraded Ohio’s long-term credit outlook.
- In 2009, Standard & Poor’s Said That Ohio’s Credit Standing Was At Risk.
- Strickland left Ohio’s budget with an $8 billion deficit and its rainy day fund with just 89 cents.
It’s no wonder that when given the chance in 2010, Ohio voters said that they had had enough of Ted Strickland. Despite this, Strickland must think that over 4 years is enough time for Ohioans to forget the economic disarray that he left the state in. He shouldn’t bet on it.
UPDATE: Brent Larkin, writing at Cleveland.com, had some thoughts on Strickland.
“But his overall record as governor was mediocre at best.”
“That Strickland might be the Democrats’ strongest candidate for Portman’s Senate seat speaks volumes about the state of the party.”
“The best measure of a political party’s strength is the depth of its bench. In Ohio, that bench isn’t empty, but there are plenty of vacancies.”