Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) was there. So were Democratic Reps. Charlie Wilson, John Boccieri and Tim Ryan. Not to mention Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams. The Democrats waited on the tarmac, and burst into applause as President Obama descended the stairs of Air Force One on his visit to Ohio today.
So where was Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D)?
John Collins, Fisher’s spokesman, tells TPM that it was simply a scheduling conflict, and that any speculation that Fisher wanted to avoid Obama is “silly.”
“Anybody who’s been following this race knows that we’ve been a strong supporter of the president’s plan to hold Wall Street accountable,” Collins said.
A local news story had reported that Republicans were suggesting Fisher was ducking Obama while they spent the day criticizing the stimulus.
Fisher is the Democratic nominee in Ohio’s Senate race. The TPM Poll Average in the race shows Fisher leading Republican Rob Portman 41.5% to 39.8%.
And lest we forget, state Republicans hit Fisher with a rather strange attack video earlier this month.
