Person
Rob Portman
11 of 11 sections researched
What has been checked
- Profile 6 entries
- On the ballot 0 entries The 2016 race is complete; no pending candidacy is published for it.
- Where they stand 3 entries
- What they have said, checked 1 entry
- Record in office 4 entries
- Money 2 entries
- Financial interests 3 entries
- Polling and approval 2 entries
- Elections 1 entry
- Endorsements given 1 entry
- Sources 21 entries
On the ballot
None found in the records checked
Where they stand
Guns
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
Held an NRA 'A' rating and campaigned as a Second Amendment supporter, while backing a Republican alternative (the Cornyn amendment, with judicial-review safeguards) to keep people on the terrorism watch list from buying guns, rather than the Democratic Feinstein amendment.
Source: politifact.com
Opioid crisis
the first time in decades that Congress has passed comprehensive addiction legislation
Source: portman.senate.gov
Trade
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
Announced he could not support the Trans-Pacific Partnership in its then-current form, citing inadequate currency-manipulation protections and weak rules of origin for automobiles and biologics.
Source: thehill.com
What they have said, checked
-
went to Washington, D.C., and he became a lobbyist. He made $400,000 a year.
PolitiFact rated this Half True, October 20, 2016 · the check
Said about Rob Portman
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even voted to allow people on the terrorism watch list to buy guns
PolitiFact rated this False, September 29, 2016 · the check
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Who would sign up to speak for a [Haitian] dictator? Rob Portman
PolitiFact rated this Mostly False, August 23, 2016 · the check
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job to stop China's illegal dumping of steel. He failed, looked the other way, did nothing.
PolitiFact rated this False, April 1, 2016 · the check
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With 320,000 net Ohio manufacturing jobs lost, (Sen. Rob) Portman calls NAFTA a 'proven success.'
PolitiFact rated this Mostly False, February 5, 2016 · the check
Record in office
-
May 9, 2016 · statement
Endorsed Donald Trump for president on May 9, 2016, after fellow Ohioan John Kasich exited the GOP primary, then publicly rescinded that endorsement on October 8-9, 2016 after the 'Access Hollywood' tape surfaced, saying he would instead write in Trump's running mate Mike Pence for president.
Columbus Dispatch, via archive.org:
Most Ohio GOP leaders still behind Trump
· the sourceSources: abc6onyourside.com · cleveland.com
-
March 2016 · bill
Lead Senate co-author, with Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and others, of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which passed the Senate 94-1 in March 2016 and was signed into law in July 2016, funding addiction prevention, treatment and recovery programs.
Sources: portman.senate.gov · news.yahoo.com
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2016 · action
As chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led an 18-month bipartisan investigation into Backpage.com; the subcommittee's report found the site knowingly facilitated sex trafficking of vulnerable women and children, and the Senate voted unanimously to hold Backpage in contempt of Congress after it resisted a subpoena.
Source: portman.senate.gov
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2011 · action
Served as one of twelve members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the 'supercommittee'), tasked with finding at least $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction; the committee failed to reach agreement, triggering automatic sequestration spending cuts.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Money
Totals as filed
| Race | Filer | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Senator from Ohio | FEC S0OH00133 | $19,849,495 | $25,276,524 | $381,764 | December 31, 2016 |
Sources: fec.gov · projects.propublica.org
Outside spending
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U.S. Senator from Ohio · supporting $36,300,000 · as of November 2016
- Freedom Partners Action Fund · $9,400,000 · support
- Fighting For Ohio Fund · $9,260,000 · support
Sources: opensecrets.org · opensecrets.org
Financial interests
Disclosed holdings
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OpenSecrets' Personal Finances database estimated Portman's net worth at $16,867,559 as of 2016, with major disclosed assets including real estate holdings valued around $3,000,000, an iShares Russell 1000 Index fund position valued around $3,000,000, and an interest in 'Lebanon House Inc.' valued around $3,000,000. His underlying Senate Financial Disclosure reports only categorical value ranges, not exact figures.
2016 · Reported by OpenSecrets
Source: opensecrets.org
Disclosed income
None found in the records checked.
Reported conflicts
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Registered as a foreign agent for Haiti in 1985 while at the law/lobbying firm Patton, Boggs & Blow, a fact used in 2016 Ohio Democratic Party attack advertising tying him to Haiti's Duvalier dictatorship; PolitiFact rated the ad's 'spoke for a dictator' framing Mostly False, citing a former managing partner's sworn statement that Portman did no actual work for the Haitian government and that the registration was standard firm procedure for a client he was not assigned to.
1985 · Reported by PolitiFact, rating an Ohio Democratic Party ad
Source: politifact.com
Net worth, as estimated
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$16,867,559 to $16,867,559, 2016
Estimated by OpenSecrets Personal Finances / Net Worth database, calculated as a midpoint estimate across the value ranges reported on Portman's U.S. Senate Financial Disclosure filing.
Source: opensecrets.org
Polling and approval
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Quinnipiac University · October 2, 2016 · U.S. Senator from Ohio
Portman 51 · Strickland 39
likely voters
Source: realclearpolitics.com
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RealClearPolitics polling average · September 6, 2016 · U.S. Senator from Ohio
Portman None · Strickland None
polling average
Source: realclearpolitics.com
Elections
| Race | Party | Result | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Senator from Ohio (2016) | Republican | Won | 3,118,567 | 58.0% |
Offices held
U.S. Representative, Ohio's 2nd District · 1993-05 to 2005-04 · elected
Source: en.wikipedia.org
U.S. Trade Representative · 2005-05 to 2006-05 · appointed
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ballotpedia.org
Director, Office of Management and Budget · 2006-05 to 2007-06 · appointed
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ballotpedia.org
U.S. Senator from Ohio · 2011-01 to 2023-01 · elected
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Endorsements
Endorsements given
Donald Trump · 2016 · May 9, 2016
Source: abc6onyourside.com
Sources
Data from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0: Rob Portman · 2016 United States Senate election in Ohio · United States congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
Every URL on this page, once each.
- Rob Portman · Ballotpedia · accessed 2026-09-19
- Rob Portman · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-19
- 2016 United States Senate election in Ohio · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-19
- United States Senate election in Ohio, 2016 · Ballotpedia · accessed 2026-09-19
- PORTMAN, ROB - Candidate overview, 2016 cycle · Federal Election Commission · accessed 2026-09-19
- Rob Portman - Net Worth - Personal Finances · OpenSecrets · accessed 2026-09-19
- Ohio Senate 2016 Race summary · OpenSecrets · accessed 2026-09-19
- Ohio Senate race attracts highest outside spending in Congress, big share of dark money · OpenSecrets News · 2016-06 · accessed 2026-09-19
- Ohio Democrats' ad ties Sen. Rob Portman to Haitian dictator · PolitiFact · 2016-08-23 · accessed 2026-09-19
- Portman, Whitehouse, Ayotte, Klobuchar Cheer Final Passage of Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act · Office of Sen. Rob Portman · 2016-07 · accessed 2026-09-19
- Portman, McCaskill Release Stunning New Report Detailing Findings From Bipartisan Sex Trafficking Investigation Into Backpage.com · Office of Sen. Rob Portman · accessed 2026-09-19
- United States congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-19
- Rob Portman endorses Donald Trump · ABC6 On Your Side · 2016-05-09 · accessed 2026-09-19
- Rob Portman rescinds endorsement of Donald Trump · Cleveland.com · 2016-10 · accessed 2026-09-19
- Most Ohio GOP leaders still behind Trump · The Columbus Dispatch, via archive.org · 2016-10-12 · accessed 2026-09-19
- Vulnerable senator comes out against Obama trade pact · The Hill · 2016 · accessed 2026-09-19
- Sen. Rob Portman on the opioid epidemic and being Trump's running mate · Yahoo News · accessed 2026-09-19
- 2016 Ohio Senate - Portman vs. Strickland vs. DeMare, polling average · RealClearPolitics · accessed 2026-09-19
- 2016 Ohio Senate - Portman vs. Strickland, polling · RealClearPolitics · accessed 2026-09-19
- Sen. Rob Portman - Ohio, top contributors/industries, 2016 cycle · OpenSecrets · accessed 2026-09-19
- Ohio's Senate Race - 2016 cycle (itemizer) · ProPublica · accessed 2026-09-19
- https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/sep/29/ted-strickland/sen-rob-portman-voted-let-terrorists-buy-guns-nope/
- 2016-10-20-rob-portman-strickland-lobbyist-400k · PolitiFact · 2016-10-20 · accessed 2026-09-19
- 2016-04-01-ted-strickland-china-steel-dumping · PolitiFact · 2016-04-01 · accessed 2026-09-19
- 2016-02-05-ted-strickland-nafta-320000-jobs · PolitiFact · 2016-02-05 · accessed 2026-09-19
Cite and data
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye (Open Shower Co), "Rob Portman", https://crackedbuckeye.com/people/rob-portman/, built 2026-09-19, accessed [date].
Machine-readable: /api/politics/people/rob-portman.json (open JSON, CC BY 4.0 for the compilation; the underlying records keep their own terms) · How to cite · Report a correction · Built 2026-09-19