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The Three Portman and Strickland Debates Will Occur in a Span of Less Than a Week

photo of Rob Portman and Ted Strickland
KAREN KASLER
/
STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU

 The two major party candidates for U.S. Senate have agreed to a series of three debates in one week in October. 

Republican incumbent Sen. Rob Portman and Democratic challenger and former Gov. Ted Strickland will meet for three hour long debates – in Youngstown on Oct. 14, in Columbus on Oct. 17 and at the City Club of Cleveland on Oct. 20.

It’s notable that they won’t debate in either Strickland’s former Congressional district in southeast Ohio nor in Portman’s hometown of Cincinnati – and the debate series also skips northwest Ohio, home to many voters likely concerned about manufacturing and trade.

Recent polls have shown the early lead Strickland enjoyed has evaporated, with Portman leading by an average of nearly 6 points.

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.