is that 8:30 eastern and the debate is at 9:00 eastern. stay with us after the debate for the reaction. watch the debate live or on-demand on c-span.org. listen with your phone on the app.n radio ohio, senator portland is running against governor strickland. both men served in the u.s. house of representative's. of ohio.te is courtesy in columbus, ohio. >> tonight, 2 candidates, one position as a u.s. senator. tedher portland and strickland meet for a debate.

a special presentation from wbns tv and the columbus dispatch. ."is is "face the state live from columbus, here is your news anchor. >> thanks for joining us for "face the state" the senatorial debate in columbus. voters go to the. number eight to elect ohio's. this evening you will hear from the leading candidates in the race. senator rob portman, the in ohio wasncumbent lifted in 2010. senator portman: was born and raised in cincinnati. ted strickland is the democratic candidate for senate, serving as ohio's governor from 20,70 -- f rom 2007 to 2011. let us introduce our panelists. the political anchor for wbns 10 tv.

and tanker at wbms 10 tv, public affairs editor at the columbus dispatch. also joining us in the studio with questions from viewers throughout the evening is our anchor kristyn hartman. our anger has agreed upon the rules set up for the debate. we begin with a two-minute opening statement. candidates have 90 seconds to answer questions. the opposing candidates has opposing 90 seconds for a response. that questioned candidate will have 30 seconds for rebuttal. questions alternate between senator portland and governor strickland. at the end of the hour each candidate will be permitted a two-minute closing statement. a coin toss has determined an important will go first. it is time to begin with opening statements. sen. portman: it's great to be in columbus, particularly after a great ohio state football victory over the weekend.

you are going to hear two public approaches to public service. i have been an independent voice for ohio making a difference for ohio families and workers. 45 of my bills written have been signed into law by the president, including issues incredibly important to ohio. one is the epidemic of heroin and prescription drugs. unfortunately it is tearing families apart in our state, devastating communities, including columbus. might confidence of addiction act -- my comprehensive addiction act can help turn the tide. i am running for andrea, who i met at the treatment center outside of columbus. andrea likes our legislation because she is a recovering addict. she likes what it does for treatment and recovery, but she also wants to save lives in the future. as a child she had to watch her mother died of a heroin overdose. i am here for teresa flores who

is a victim of human trafficking and an activist who helped write me --helped me to write 4 bills for human trafficking and increased sentencing for those that traffic them. i have worked on the working system to ensure that we get our infrastructure products without to many federal permits and cracking down on unfair imports from countries like china. the level the playing field act is hoping tire workers and paperworkers and steelworkers all over the state. i am running for them too. the status quo is not acceptable. there is much more to do. ohio families and workers are working longer hours. particularly in health care because of obamacare. you will hear our positive agenda to deal with those issues. you will hear a lot of partisan false attacks from the opponent. he does not want to talk about his record. he does not want to talk about

his vision because he does not have a positive one. thank you. gov. strickland: i grew up in a family that new a lot of struggle. but we survived because we serve -- we loved and cared for each other. my family lost their first home when it was destroyed by a flood. our second we lost to hard times. when i was five years old, our third home burned to the ground. my dad was a hard-working steelworker. my mom raised nine kids, and i was the first to be able to go to college. i learned at an early age what it's like to live paycheck to one that and how just break can cause real hardship. that is why i spend my life as a minister, a teacher, a psychologist, a congressman, and as your governor, fighting for working people. and that is who i will fight for in the senate. the rob portman story is different. it is a story of wealth, power,

and privilege. it is a story about a man that says one thing in ohio and goes to washington and does something else. you know, perhaps the most egregious things you have done in washington are the attacks you have leveled against women. like donald trump, rob portman wants to overturn roe v wade, and has voted to defund planned parenthood. he has pushed legislation to allow a boss to tell a female employee that she should not have access to birth control. and he has voted five times against pay equity for women. senator, i think people of ohio -- the women of ohio deserve an apology from you, because you disrespected them. even standing with donald trump after he bragged about assaulting women. tonight you will see differences between the two of us. i am for working people.

sen. portman: to do what he has always done -- look out for the wealthy, the well-connected, and the wall street bankers. thank you. host: it is time to begin to question portion. governor strickland will answer first. areirst couple questions dealing with the subject of character of our nominees. government -- hillary clinton has called donald trump supporters deplorables was not server.about her e-mail has reversed herself on issues like immigration and trade. she also said "you need both a public and private position when talking about politics getting done." you and the media have asked senator portman about his support for donald trump. how do you support hillary clinton when the majorities of

americans believe she is dishonest, and that she is untrustworthy? gov. strickland: i support hillary clinton. i think she ought to be president. i think she is one of the two that is qualified. subjected to attacks over her 30 years in political life. i have known her for a long time. i know how she cares about children and families. i know the work she has done with the children's defense fund. i know the work that she did as first lady to get this country to have a company and since health care system. comprehensive health care system. i believe she is an honest person. that does not mean she has made mistakes. she said using a private server was a mistake, and it was. i don't believe there is any evidence that she was actually that she has actually light to the american people, as some -- that she has lied to the

american people. compare her to donald trump, a man who has called women pigs and worse, who has encouraged nuclear proliferation around the world, who has mocked someone with a physical disability, who has bragged openly about assaulting women sexually, a man who is totally unfit to be president. this election provides us with a choice. the choice between hillary clinton and donald trump. senatorar and a half, portman said he disagreed with certain things that donald trump said. it wasn't until he made a political calculus and at nearly the last minute that he withdrew his support. response senator portman. sen. portman: you raised a good point that hillary clinton said and did a lot of things that you think ted strickland would hav stood up to. when donald trump said things, i

did stand up and was counted. when she called half of donald trump supporters irredeemable and racist, that is about one million ohio voters. he said nothing. to this day he refuses to condemn those remarks. this race is not between donald trump and hillary clinton. i think ted strickland would like to have it that way. this is between ted strickland and me. it is a comparison of our public policy plans going forward, and the difference cannot be anymore stark. my record is one of getting stuff done, making a difference in the lives of ohioans. his is as a congressman, ineffective. i talked about the 45 bills signed into law. billsat strickland, 0 signed into law. you talked about words, and words do matter. and ted strickland and this

campaign has said things that offend all ohioans. he celebrated the death of antonin scalia for political purposes. at the republican prevention he brought out fortune cookies that offended asian americans. he is the one that recently used the word rape in an offensive way to connect rape and charter schools. words do matter but this is a race between senator strickland and me. gov. strickland: this is a race between us, and rob portman is a man that takes credit things that he has not done. before the omnibus bill passed he sent out 14 press releases in the week and a half before it was voted on taking credit for money to clean up lake erie, on and on. 14 claims, money for drug addiction -- and he voted against a bill and traveled

across ohio taking credit for things that he actually voted against. jerry: thank you. the second comes from our news anchorfor sen. portman:. >> guarding donald trump we have 30 years worth of inflammatory statements from him, and you have waited until a comfortable lead in the polls on to announce your support. why did you not follow governor john kasich's lead in holding back your support from the beginning? sen. portman: he is the republican nominee, and won it fair and square. i made the decision not to support the nominee because i found his words a week ago to be so offensive. i did support john kasich in the primary. when john kasich lost the primary and donald trump won it, i wanted to respect the piece of the voters. but his words are wrong and

demeaning to women. for me that is the final straw. i cannot make that decision lightly. he did when the nomination. -- did win the nomination. i plan to support mike pence. he was also elected. this is not about hillary clinton and donald trump. it is about ted strickland and rob portman. the voters have given me a comfortable lead in pulling because they have looked at the record. the reason the teamsters and united mine workers and fraternal order of police, all of whom used to support ted strickland, they are supporting me because they have looked at our records to help ohio moving to the future. again, it is a big distinction. we will hear more about this tonight i hope instead of more partisan attacks, but actually talk about these issues and

done, or not done in the case of governor strickland. gov. strickland: the truth can hurt, this talk about women. during his tenure in the senate, this senator has attended to overturn roe v wade. he wants to take away a woman's right to control her own health care choices. he's voted to defund planned parenthood. he's stood by as donald trump cold women pigs and worse. he said, i disagree with that, but i think he ought to be president. when he mocked a disabled person -- when he said that john mccain was not a hero because he had been captured -- he said, i but i still think he ought to be president. for months she did not have the courage to break within. i think he chose party over country.

governor kasich did the honorable thing. he said he could not support this man. i have wanted him for that. but not senator portman. it wasn't until the last hour as he was ahead in the polls that he summoned the courage to say, i cannot vote for him, i'm going to write in mike pence. mike pence is the most anti-gay political leader in the united states of america. i don't think mike pence is a good second choice. i think the senator ought to consider hillary clinton. sen. portman: everything he comes up with a tax and partisanship is to distract from his own record. and again, very ineffective record. and as governor the loss of

350,000 jobs, taking ohio 248 and the country. 47 other governors figured it out better than he did. --taking ohio to 48th in the country. after that he left ohio and went to washington dc to cash in as a lobbyist. jerry: the third question comes from the columbus dispatch for governor strickland. >> i'd like to talk about the issue that separates you to the most in this campaign, trade. governor strickland has opposed about every trade bill in the last 20 plus years. sen. portman: that you have written some of those trade bills --center do --senator portman, you have written some of those bills. let's just talk about one of these where ohio wins came in on this -- nafta. tell me whether the north american free trade agreement has helped or hurt ohio. sen. portman: thank you for the

question. --gov. strickland: about ohio having lost jobs, it was a national recession. it was george bush's trade representative leading up to the national economic collapse. you had a lot more to do with the job loss in ohio than i did. in terms of nafta, we were both are there when it passed. your newspaper the columbus dispatch has written that rob portman has never met a freed trade deal he did not like. he was george bush'trade representative at a time when our trade imbalance with china exploded 21%. tradee was george bush's representative, he did not take on china for current simulation and said it would be counterproductive. -- for currency manipulation and said it would become productive. there was a recommendation that china beat punished for sending steel into the country below

cost and he recommended against it. i am proud of my record for fighting for working men and women. senator portman i think is the best senator that china has ever had. jerry: senator portman, your response? sen. portman: we heard a whole string of first-person attacks -- of false partisan attacks. here is what is important. governor strickland has never stood up to china. in fact in the house of representatives he voted twice for what he criticizes me for. he voted not to hold china accountable. he certainly did not make it easier for ohio workers. with the help of sherrod brown i passed a level the playing field act, which is successful right now in pushing back against chinese imports that are unfairly dumped on a country. aresteelworkers of ohio

happy with the breathing room it allows them to compete. we are having more success because of the enforce act also passed the senate in the last couple of years. the enforce act helps companies those because of the level playing field act. i am the one that has taken the lead on currency manipulation. governor strickland talks a good game, but has done absolutely nothing. what he did do was lost 350,000 jobs as governor, nine out of 10 went to other states. 47 other governors got it right when he couldn't. and he set up a trade office in china. and here he is saying that he stands up to china. what has he ever done to help ohio workers? i have results. i am proud of those results and look forward to continuing to work hard for ohio workers. jerry: your rebuttal. gov. strickland: i invite the fact checkers to check the

things i have said tonight. what i have said tonight is accurate. senator portman seems to have forgotten everything he ever did before i got into this race. you hear him talk now and he sounds like a democrat. the fact is that he has -- excuse me. you were saying something? sen. portman: i said, i hope not. gov. strickland: it's my time, but i will yield it to you. jerry: next question. >> ohio's minimum wages higher than the federal minimum wage at eight $.10 an hour. is it a livable wage in your opinion? gov. strickland: i think the minimum wage is a better way to go. it is index to the cost of living, so it goes up as inflation goes up.

this was legislation that governor strickland backed before and used to support. now he supports a huge increase in the minimum wage right away that will cause the loss of 30,000 jobs in ohio based on a miami university study we are happy to provide. 700,000 jobs would be lost nationally. about half those on minimum wage are under age of 24. you want those to be able to move up on the ladder. you don't want it to go in a huge stairstep. you will lose those opportunities. we have a huge problem in our state and country where people are not involved in the workforce. for men, the labor participation rate has been the lowest in the country, particularly among young men. it would be a real mistake to do what governor strickland wants to do, but i think it ought to go up. let's take it up immediately to this higher number ohio has, and let's have it indexed to inflation.

in order to allow people to get the first rung of the ladder. i and my kids started at minimum wage jobs. we more people to have the opportunity to get to work and learn how to work. that is why the minimum wage used to be reasonable for people to have the opportunity to have a job. gov. strickland: i want to raise the minimum wage. i think of a person works hard they ought not to live in poverty. much income how that senator portman gets. i looked at his senatorial salary and his investment incomes. makes aboutthat he $343 and $.57 per hour based on a 40 hour workweek. and there was a bill in the senate to raise the minimum wage to $10 and $.10 per hour. and he voted no.

versusd $.57 per hour $10 and $.10 per hour. minimum wageke the challenge. i tried to live on the minimum wage for a week. i did that a couple of years ago. i ate a plot of items off of the mcdonald's dollar menu. i ate a glut of bananas. they are pretty cheap. i did not make it. on the fifth day, my nephew told me he was in town for some special training before he went to afghanistan. i decided to take them out to dinner and i look the minimum wage --drunk the minimum -- broke the minimum wage challenge. many brothers and sisters and uncles may have a loved one who could not even afford to take their loved one out to dinner. that is the way minimum wage folks have to live. jerry: your rebuttal?

sen. portman: when ted strickland was governor, he had a chance to speak on this. he supported the ohio minimum wage, which is indexed to inflation, which is helpful. but he also presided over a state that must $350,000. -- a state that lost 350,000 jobs. nine out of 10 jobs went to other states. after that, he left the state and went to washington dc to become a lobbyist. he made 400 thousand dollars a year. he was not living on minimum wage, but was working against the interest of ohioans. jerry: the fifth question from governor strickland. it comes from a viewer. >> we sent our cameras at the getty special perspective -- yours. this question comes from a columbus fewer. -- viewer. >> hi, i am from columbus, ohio

and my question would be, how would you foster an environment in ohio that would create better and more jobs? gov. strickland: the first thing we need to do is make sure that education is of high quality and, affordable for young people. make k-1as governor to 2 education of higher quality. when i begin governor of ohio was ranked 27th in the nation in quality of schools. when i left the governor's office, ohio was ranked fifth in the nation. as it came to higher education, i froze tuition my first two-year budget. office,he four years in i believe ohio had the slightest increase in tuition of any of the 50 states. i am proud of the record i have in fostering education. i would like to contrast my record with senator portman's. when he was george bush's budget

director, he proposed cutting millions out of hell grants. the largest cut in history. -- pell grants. he advocated for the elimination of the loan program. and even now as we have students with high debt, with high interest rates, senator portman is opposing allowing ohio students to refinance their student debt and a lower interest rate. why would he do that? he is doing what he always does. what is washington powerbrokers asked of him, rather than what is right for the students and people of ohio. jerry: sen. portman: on your response. sen. portman: thanks for calling in tonight. it is apparent that what ted strickland did not do as governor do not work. we lost hundreds of thousands of jobs. unemployment was well above the national average.

he actually cut education funding. he took off the freeze in tuitions so increased the cost for students. what we have to do is what some of the republicans and the legislature have started to do, is reform the tax code. we have to do much more in terms of worker training. some of my legislation called the career act money spent much better for jobs that are actually in the region where the training is taking place. i am in big fan of career and technical education. i started a caucus with tim kaine. both of us have legislation together which helped to encourage more career and technical education. we believe that should start and middle school through high school. we have about 250,000 people out of work in ohio. about 150,000 jobs are open. employers are looking for workers, but there is a skills

gap. i could be closed by career and technical education. midcareer,r those in be able to take advantage of better work training programs to get those jobs. some of the critical things that have to be done. i am proud of what john kasich has done. we have to do a better job in preparing our young people for the 20th century workforce. gov. strickland: the senator said i made $400,000? that is a big whopper. i never made $400,000 in my life. listen, education is important. we've got to make it affordable. yousome reason senator, have turned your back on ohio students when they want to refinance student debt. i don't understand why you say no. jerry: the sixth question comes from the columbus dispatch for

senator portman. >> another issue question. senator portman, your campaign governorge deal of strickland draining the rainy day fund. isn't that what it was for? it was the worst economic downturn since the great depression. state revenue was tanking. what would you have done differently? sen. portman: thanks very much. thanks for reminding us that he -- rainy dayy done fund from $8 billion to $.89. he left the state with an $8 billion deficit, which your third-party investigation has confirmed. it wasn't just that jobs left ohio and we were at the bottom of the heap. he also drained the rainy day fund so that there was nothing there for the next administration, and he left the next administration in january

of 2011 with an $8 billion budget shortfall. unprecedented in ohio. i would have done what they did at the time. you remember the republicans said, you have to raise taxes to close that. you have to make it more business friendly and create more economic activity. today we sit with more than a $2 billion surplus in the ohio rainy day fund. it has worked to help bring back jobs and activity. why you want to send ted strickland to the u.s. senate, because higher taxes, the spending he did as governor that he did with the rainy day fund -- that is the problem with washington dc today. we need a problem with progrowth -- we need a positive progrowth agenda that helps women like sidney to get a job.

that is why the broken tax code has to be fixed. we need to reform regulations. we have to work on the skills gap to provide better skills training. jerry: your response? gov. strickland: i don't know how to say this, but you are simply not telling the truth. i did not leave an $8 billion deficit. i balanced the budget each year i was in the governor's office. you talk about the 350,000 jobs lost. senator, you fail to acknowledge that america lost over 8 million jobs. it was a national recession. and it was a recession that was caused not by ohio, not by me as governor, but it was caused by the bush administration policies and wall street. dan you were george bush's trade representative and budget director leading to the collapse of the economy. you criticize me for having lost

jobs? let's say something about the rainy day fund. senator, it was raining. you have a rainy day fund to use when it's raining. and i used it for and intended purpose. it would have been irresponsible not to have used the rainy day fund. i would not cut education. i would not cut money from police and fire. i balanced the budget. i handled this state in a responsible way. we won the governor's cup 3 out of the four years i was in the governor's office. i left this state in a recovery mode. we were the fifth fastest growing in economy when i left office. that is a pretty good record. sen. portman: when you're as deep a ditch as ted strickland took the state, it's easy to show growth. there was a budget shortfall of a million dollars when he left

office. that is what they were left with in january 2011. ever happened in the state before.it's not just that. the question is, what did you do ?bout it it is the weakest economic recovery since world war ii. the middle class squeeze is very we'll. wages are not going up. expenses are dramatically increasing. we need new approaches. jerry: the seven question is for governor strickland. >> let us talk about guns. overwhelming majorities of americans believe we should expand background checks and then people on the no-fly list from getting -- ban people on the no-fly list from getting a gun. where you stand on these issues? gov. strickland: thank you. i want you to know that i have a history in terms of guns and gun use. i came from southern ohio and leave in a second amendment.

--believe in the second amendment. i know that 133,000 americans lose their lives to gun violence every year. unfortunately about 2000 those to suicide. i believe it is possible to honor the second amendment and still support commonsense efforts to curb this carnage. i do support comprehensive background checks. closing loopholes for gun shows and internet sales. we ought to do everything we can to help guns out of those who would do us harm. it is a no-brainer. if someone is judged to be so dangerous that they cannot get on an airplane and fly. if they on the terror watchlist, they ought not to be able to buy a semiautomatic weapon. those are commonsense solutions. senator portland has opposed everything. maybe that is why the nra has

spent almost $2 million in this race attacking me. because they know i will stand up to them, and they know he will do whatever they ask of him. he a republican bill -- he voted against a bill to keep guns out of the hands of suspected terroristss and he voted no. that is a big difference when it comes to gun violence. jerry: your response? sen. portman: as you know ted strickland famously said early that i have "a mixed and spotty record" on gun-control issues. and it is true. during this campaign he frightened about his a plus record with the nra -- he bra gged about his a plus record with the nra. i support tightening up background checks. we need a mental health checks.

we have people related to these mental health issues. i am one of the cosponsors of the legislation to change our mental health system. i also support dealing with this heroin and prescription drug issue. what i am told by law enforcement is that is the number one driver of gun violence and crime. columbus a ride with a police officer and asked him why we had a gun violence. his answer, drugs and gangs. that is why it is so related to this issue where i have taken the lead. i also believe commonsense efforts like saying you're on the no-fly list, you should not be able to get it done, are appropriate. i voted for the legislation to do that. and simplicity that if you are on the no-fly list, you are permitted from getting a gun. there needs to be due process to make sure you are on the no-fly list.

jerry: your rebuttal? gov. strickland: every time we talk about guns, senator portman wants to talk about mental health. i am concerned about mental health. i know there are mental health problems that need to be addressed, but guns need to be addressed as well. you always. to mental health -- you always. -- pivot to mental health. with you close all the loopholes? would you do that? i will yield my time. jerry: we don't have time. next question. >> this next question is for senator portman. in giving you a voice, it comes from a columbus viewer. >> hi, i'm scott from columbus, ohio and would ask the candidates what they think about the wells for the situation with 2 million phony accounts opened. sen. portman: i am appalled with

what i have heard. theres a situation where were fake bank accounts set up. the senate committee investigated this end uncovered information that might end up being part of a criminal probe. . think that is appropriate but it's important that we have proper regulation over banks, not just wells fargo's of the world, but our entire system. one of the things in ohio is regard to community banks. they are feeling unbelievable pressure from increased regulations. some of them are going out of business altogether. i want to be sure that every community in ohio can have a community bank. they support the county fair. if they hadll me,

one person doing compliance or ago, now it's three people doing it. and they sadly cannot afford the overhead. you have these bigger banks coming in and taking over where the smaller banks once were. i come from a small business family. it is tough to get a loan. small banks are where they go to get those loans. that is one thing they are concerned about in ohio, is that our community banks are under more pressure from regulations. gov. strickland: what happened with wells fargo is an example of the latest --

-- wells fargo has resigned, but my understanding is that he left with a golden parachute of i think $41 million. i am not sure that is the exact amount, but millions of dollars. i think he ought to be tried. this was an egregious mistreatment of people without their knowing. . we need to thought frank.and senator portman has opposed. frank. -- dodd frank. i think he is beholden to the big banks. community banks are important. we need to have community banks. but the big banks have mistreated us. bailout of to the the auto industry.

i never heard him say a word about the bailout of the big banks. that is one of the major differences. jerry: your rebuttal? sen. portman: in terms of the big banks, i don't think dodd frank works so well. they are getting bigger and bigger. so much for too big to fail. governor strickland talk about the rich and powerful and personal attacks. let me say something about that. the rich and powerful did fine in the teddy strickland ohio. 350,000 jobs were lost. rich and powerful were fine. we have to move on. the ninth question comes for governor strickland. >> we will talk about immigration. when we wrote these questions we

want you to answer it this way. put aside border security, .ecause most americans do you support a pathway to citizenship or proselyte of legalization, or neither for those that are already here? why or why not? sen. portman: i support -- gov. strickland: i support comprehensive immigration reform similar to what was passed in the senate. a bipartisan bill put together by senator john mccain, senator marco rubio. it was an effort to deal with this issue in the country into way. i believe there should be a pathway to citizenship. i don't want a two-tiered society. senator portman voted no.

drag onhad this problem and on. who haspporting a man taken outrageous positions when it comes to immigration. a man who has called mexicans rapists, murderers, a ma who wantedn to ban an entire religious group from coming into this country. i believe we need comprehensive reform. that reform should include a definite pathway to citizenship. i believe that it would be good for our economy. i believe that is consistent with our national values. -- andrted very strongly this is another difference between us. border security has to be part of it. i'm not getting into border security.

we do need to do something with people that are here. people are living in the shadows. it is wrong. we are a country of laws. we need to be sure that is respected. we are also a country of our grants. for those that are here that are and if to come forward, they have a record, they should be deported, but the others should have a path to legalization. this was tried before. the last major immigration form happened in 19 83, but there was no enforcement either at the border war the workplace. i do support much stronger enforcement along with that, including equipment at the workplace.

i have bipartisan support for that. i offered legislation that was just talked about. we have to tighten up enforcement. at the same time as a country of immigration we ought to have borders be much more secure. bringuld continue to refugees that enrich our country. gov. strickland: well i am happy . it sounds like senator portman and i have found something and i thousand and we can have a measure of agreement on. i think a pathway to legalization is the beginning, but i like to see a pathway to citizenship. campaigns have focused on the heroine in opioid epidemic. how do you explain the attention to what is considered a suburban, white, or middle-class issue, while this was occurring

and african-american communities? i spent a lot of time on this issue. i appreciate the fact that you guys covered this so thoroughly. you have an hour special on it. i think that you saved lives by raising the middle of is the of this issue. it affects every zip code. i got involved with this over years when it was more of an inner-city problem. i was involved in the crack cocaine issue, other drugs like methamphetamines. it has now switched and it is everywhere. and it is in the suburbs and rural areas. at mary haven, a drug treatment center outside of columbus. i have been to the house of hope

. seed the opportunity to these people get back together with their kids. andrea once it back together with her son because of her addiction. i think it is an issue that everybody ought to pull together on. it should not be one that divides neighborhoods as you say. if we don't address this issue we are going to see high crime rates. i talked to several hundred alex in the last few years. addicts in the last few years. jerry: thank you. your response? gov. strickland: when i was a candidate for governor, i stood before the metropolitan club calling attention that there were disparities in sentencing. sentencing that

versus crack cocaine was over racial issues. it is true that sometimes we have different levels of concern depending on which community members are involved. but in terms of what we are dealing with right now, it did not just start yesterday. it started a long time ago. when i was governor i started a prescription drug task force because it was becoming obvious to me that oxycontin and other addictive drugs were being prescribed. people were becoming addicted and when their perception was no longer there or became too costly, there were going to the streets and finding cheaper alternatives. i don't with this personally. -- i dealt with this personally. my nephew overdosed on oxycontin a two months ago.

the problem i have with senator portman i that he iss focusing on this issue, and i congratulate him for that, but he voted against the funding for his own bill. he let someone else carried water because he cannot have the courage to cast the vote. he travels around ohio boasting about this bill. communities need resources, and resources require funding. jerry: your rebuttal? gov. strickland: nothing could be further from the truth. -sen. portman: i want to find my own bill and have done that. i got $37 million between two weeks ago and december 8. that allows my legislation to get the convergence of addiction and recovery act to go. there was an epidemic that started when governor strickland was governor. at that time he cut funding for drug prevention and drug treatment by 30%. jerry: thank you.

the final question comes from the columbus dispatch for governor strickland. >> this will be your favorite i am short. this is your chance to tell us what is the most egregious or misleading thing your opponent has said. this is your chance to correct that record. gov. strickland: i think the most egregious is that i am responsible for the recession. he blamed me for losing jobs during a great national recession. he's have his out-of-state billionaire friends, the koch brother and others. i have to convince people they have done this -- they have seen the ads. an unprecedented amount of ads distorting my record as governor. i don't think it is correct and not fair. he said some things this evening that are just blatantly untrue. i did not leave an $8 billion deficit. i did not make $400,000.

i have never even approach to making that kind of money in my life. ofhink there is a matter howc fairness in terms of people see this senate race. i have not had the kind of resources, he said. been the same kind of fair fight where we spent our own money into not have billionaires trying to buy the seat, i think i would be ahead of the sky 10 points. the fact is i still intend to be him. the people of ohio, you know watching this tonight that you agree with me when it comes to education, women's issues, when it comes to trade. when it comes to taxes. i want to cut taxes for working people, he wants to cut taxes for rich people. sen. portman: i don't know where

to begin. i could go through the list of what he just said, all of which is false. he said a number of things which are just not true. it would not be a good use of time. instead let's talk about what he talked about, why we're running the race. he said because there are more outside groups coming and. there are no outside groups now i suppose. for a while he was more dependent on what he calls dark money than any other candidate in the country. harry reid's super pac is putting more money in ohio attacking me every day on these false activations. he has been more dependent on what he complains about than any candidate in the country. it is true that he did leave ohio. he was not good at exporting as governor. he was very good at exporting jobs, including his own it turned out. he washington immediately after

he was turned out of office by the voters and went as a lobbyist. the financial disclosure form, it is about 400,000 bucks a year. he said it was his dream job, he never made so much money in his life. my dream job is serving the people of ohio. it is not serving as a lobbyist, what he did when he left ohio. jerry: your rebuttal? gov. strickland: when i left ohio, i went to harvard and spent a semester there. i worked at the u.n. for several months. i spent one year in washington i invite these journalist to look at my tax returns and see what i made. it was a lot less than $400,000. just one of the latest things he has said that is blatantly untrue. i urge the fact checkers--

jerry: we are out of time. that concludes our question portion. it is time for closing statements. sen. portman: you have two minutes. sen. portman: i hope this has been an important opportunity to hear two different approaches. i have reached across the aisle and got stuff done. we have talked about some of these bills tonight that are helping ohio workers and families in very direct ways. that contrast to my opponent's record. as living governor at the bottom of the heap, 40 in job creation. every day when i go to washington from our home in ohio, i take with me the values of ohio. these are values that i learned growing up. i grew up in a small business family. kid, my dad risk it

all to start his dream starting a new business. he started with five guys. my mama was the bookkeeper. he could not get any money from the bank. we finally got a loan from my mom's uncle. he lost money the first few years, but through hard work and sacrifice eventually found his niche. i worked at that small business and so did my small brother and sister. i members weeping the shop floor a lot. i remember grinding the rest and paint off of forklift trucks. that is where i learned the value of hard work and sacrifice. i learned the importance of giving back to others. that experience is one that i take with me to washington d.c.. i ran into a guy, a mechanic.

he has never tired with a healthy 401k. he is able to provide health to his grandchildren who are going to college. he never got to go to college but is living his american dream. i want to make sure that every ohio and can reach for their american dream. i ask for your vote tonight. gov. strickland: let me say i have never been a lobbyist. check it out. you talk about being an independent voice. you are not independent of when president obama nominated to stick garland to the supreme court. you cannot do your job. i want to talk to my fellow ohioans. i wanted to listen to me because there is a choice in this senate race. you can send a message to the billionaire class that ohio is not for sale. i want to tell you why i am running for this senate seat. i was the first of my family to go to college.

i was elected to the congress. my dad in his 80's had never flown on an airplane and wanted to fly to the sea to see me take the of. -- fly to d.c. to see me take the oath. a reporter put a microphone in front of him and said, i bet you are proud of him. he gave the perfect parental answer -- i am proud of all of my kids. he's proud of my oldest brother who fought in world war ii, my three sisters who worked as nurses aides, please proud of my three brothers who finished concrete for a living. i share that with you because i have been fortunate. my state and country has made it possible to live a life that my brothers could not live. i was able to get an education. i know how important an education is. i know how struggling moms and dads worry about their kids.

i want to spend the rest of my life fighting for working people, people who are being mistreated by a system that enables the rich and powerful to make the rules and call the shots. ii want to go to washington and be a senator that will be a fighter for you. thank you. jerry: thank you gentlemen. >> c-span brings you more debates this week from key senate races. today at 7:00 eastern, live coverage of the debate from indiana. republican congressman todd young faces former democratic senator evan bye. succeed thet to louisiana senate seat. several candidates will take the steve -- stage.

at midnight on c-span, republican senator ron johnson and former democratic senator russ feingold debate for the wisconsin senate seat. live on c-span thursday evening at 7:00, candidates in the ohio senate race me for another debate. rob portman and ted strickland. house,key debates from senate and governor's races on the c-span networks, c-span.org and on the c-span radio app. c-span, where history unfolds daily. washington journal is next, we will look at today's news and take your calls. the italian prime minister is in washington. he and president obama hold a presidential news, -- a news conference in the presidential rose garden. the prime host minister and his wife for a white house state dinner. we will bring you the guest arrivals and toast at 6:30 p.m. eastern. coming up next hour, sean of real clear politics talks about the 16 campaign.

then we talked to associate pressure -- president michael mcdonald of the university of florida about early voting. you can join our conversation on facebook and twitter. ♪ host: we are now three weeks from election day and one day away from the third and private -- final presidential debate. arees planning to come up the continued revelations of e-mails hacked by the wikileaks group. those include communications on campaign strategy, transcripts speeches onlinton's wall street, and embarrassing gossip. we are asking viewers on your take for the wikileaks