COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - U.S. Senate candidate P.G. Sittenfeld portrayed himself Tuesday as the only Ohio candidate in the closely watched 2016 race who would support significant gun restrictions if elected, a position that failed to ruffle the feathers of his better known rivals.
In remarks to reporters, the 31-year-old Cincinnati councilman said he would be a fresh voice in Washington not beholden to the powerful National Rifle Association.
“So I have come here to say I will not be intimidated. I am here to say that Ohio deserves leaders who will stand up and fight for the safety of our families,” he said. “And I am here to say that it is time for the slaughter to stop.”
Sittenfeld said he plans to use his support for universal background checks, safe storage laws and ammunition micro-stamping in a statewide campaign push on an issue he believes can gain traction among voters.
He faces former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland in the Democratic primary in March. The winner of that contest will face Republican incumbent Rob Portman next fall. In early polling Strickland has been ahead of or statistically tied with Portman.
Sittenfeld has stalwartly remained in the race despite Strickland’s statewide name ID and his landing of a rare preprimary endorsement from the Ohio Democratic Party.
Sittenfeld said that Portman has earned the NRA’s A rating, and Strickland was rated A-plus - that is, before some of his more recent positions received pushback from gun groups.
“When it comes to guns, Sen. Portman and Gov. Strickland are just different sides of the same coin,” Sittenfeld said.
Strickland campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Donohue disputed the characterization.
“Of course, Ted supports common-sense background checks,” she said. “It’s Sen. Portman who refuses to support common-sense ideas that keep guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and the mentally ill.”
Portman spokesman Corry Bliss said, “Rob Portman has been clear that he believes we can curb gun violence by enforcing current law and strengthening background checks with far better mental health records.”
Bliss contended that Strickland “betrayed gun owners” when he went to work for an arm of Center for American Progress, a liberal policy group that supports gun control laws.
It has been typical in the race for Strickland and Portman - the higher profile, better funded candidates - to ignore Sittenfeld and his challenges. But he was flanked Tuesday with several people - including the leader of an anti-gun violence group in Cleveland, and the mother of a son shot to death in Dayton - who said his strong stances on guns have caused them to support him for Senate.
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