A day ahead of the presidential visit, opponents of the two Republicans running for U.S. Senate and Ohio governor are being taken to task for their stands on foreign trade.
Congressman Tim Ryan was one of a number of speakers criticizing the policies of candidates John Kasich, running for Ohio governor, and Rob Portman, running for U.S. Senate.
The group complained the candidates' support of treaties like NAFTA have caused too many jobs to be moved out of Ohio and overseas to places like China. Sherry Killian, the recording secretary for USW Local 98L at Denman Tire, said Chinese manufacturers underbid US tiremakers "because they don't have the enviromental cause we have in the United States, they don't have the safety standards we have in the United States."
Officials with both the Kasich and Portman campaigns argued the tax policies of the Ted Strickland administration have actually done more harm to the state's economy.
Both claim that of the companies leaving the Ohio, five times as many have moved to other states than overseas during Strickland's first term. They also claimed Ohio has lost nearly 200,000 jobs in the last year alone under Strickland's watch.
