Toomey, Rubio boost shaky Senate GOP majority

In their quest to hold onto the majority, Senate Republicans got some good news Wednesday with swing state polls showing them in the driver's seat a month before the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. According to new Quinnipiac polls released Wednesday, Sen. Pat Toomey holds a nine-point advantage over Democratic challenger Katie McGinty in Pennsylvania, while Florida's Marco Rubio, who hadn't announced his re-election bid when the poll was taken, leads Rep. Patrick Murphy , giving the GOP a boost in two states Donald Trump looks to flip for the Republicans in November.

Portman, Strickland Tied in Ohio; Toomey Up in Pa.: Quinnipiac

Republican Sen. Rob Portman and Democratic rival and former Gov. Ted Strickland each get 42% support for Ohio Senate race, according to Quinnipiac University poll. In Fla., Republican Sen. Marco Rubio leads Democratic opponent Rep. Patrick Murphy 47%-40%; Rubio tops Rep. Alan Grayson 48%-40% NOTE: Rubio needs to decide by Friday whether he will seek re-election; he is re-evaluating his earlier decision not to seek a second term NOTE: Margin of error in Fla.

GOP donors rattled by Trump

Republican donors who are still willing to give to Donald Trump are increasingly uneasy - not just about the constant controversy surrounding the presumptive GOP nominee but also the perceived total lack of infrastructure related to his nascent fundraising operation. The list of problems, according to donors and party officials, is both long and not easy to fix over the course of a short period.

Public viewing to be held for former Ohio governor

A public viewing will be held in the rotunda of Cleveland City Hall on Thursday for George Voinovich, the former U.S. senator, Ohio governor and Cleveland mayor. The viewing will be from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Thursday followed by a brief program to honor the well-respected Republican who held various elected offices for more than 40 years.

Some vulnerable Republican senators giving that terrorist gun ban a second look

Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, which is frightening.We must make sure his hateful rhetoric does not even... Sign if you agree: Presidents do not stop working in the final year of their term. Neither should the Senate.

Former GOP senator and Ohio Gov. George Voinovich dies

Former Republican U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, a two-term Ohio governor who preached frugality in his personal and public life and occasionally bucked the GOP establishment, died Sunday. He was 79. Voinovich, considered a moderate who opposed the size of former President George W. Bush's tax cuts and later questioned Bush's war strategy in Iraq, died peacefully in his sleep, his wife Janet confirmed.

Portman: It’s ‘wrong’ for Trump to talk about judge’s ethnicity

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Sen. Rob Portman blasted Donald Trump for making personal, racially tinged verbal attacks against a federal judge. Trump has issued a litany of attacks on U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing two class-action lawsuits against Trump University in San Diego.

Coal miners PAC backs Portman over Strickland for US Senate

A coal miners' union influential in Appalachian Ohio is backing Republican Rob Portman over rival Ted Strickland in the closely watched contest for U.S. Senate. The announcement Thursday by the United Mine Workers of America's National Council of Coal Miners PAC comes as a political blow to Strickland.

Cleveland leaders vow to host a safe and scenic Republican convention: Ohio Politics Roundup

In this June 2014 file photo, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson speaks to the media with Republican National Committee site selection leader Enid Mickelsen and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus alongside at Quicken Loans Arena. Mayor Frank Jackson and other Cleveland leaders swear they have their act together for the Republican National Convention.

Space industry officials to visit Ohio shop working on Orion

Space industry officials including a space flight veteran plan to visit a machine ship in southwest Ohio that is contributing to NASA's Orion and Space Launch System programs. Organizers say retired astronaut Brian Duffy and members of the Orion and SLS leadership team will be joined Wednesday by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, other local officials and community leaders, and students in the program at Metalex Manufacturing Inc., in Cincinnati.

Rob Portman touts opioids work in first re-election ads

Sen. Rob Portman parlayed his work to combat the prescription painkiller and heroin crisis into a series of campaign ads Tuesday, as he tries to stave off former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and win re-election in November. Congress is trying to catch up with a devastating opioids outbreak that is killing more people than car crashes do in some places, and Mr. Portman , Ohio Republican, has frequently touted his efforts to stem the tide.

Sherrod Brown, Rob Portman find common ground in U.S. Senate despite party differences

Ohio Sens. Rob Portman, left, and Sherrod Brown - seen together in January at the Martin Luther King Jr. ceremonies at the Columbus Convention Center - have developed a cordial relationship despite their partisan differences. WASHINGTON - You wouldn't think they like each other or have anything in common: the soft-spoken, button-down conservative Republican from Cincinnati who served as U.S. trade representative under President George W. Bush, and the gravel-voiced, rumpled Democrat from Cleveland who wrote a book called "The Myths of Free Trade."

BC-OH-Ohio News Digest 1:30 pm, OH

Hello! Here's a look at how AP's general news coverage is shaping up in Ohio. Questions about coverage plans are welcome and should be directed to the AP Columbus bureau at 614-885-2727 or APColumbus@ap.org.

Strickland Pummels Portman On ‘ Economic Fairness, Earned Pay’

The offices of the International Association of Theater and Screen Employees were the opening media event site for Ohio Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ted Strickland's three-day sojourn around Ohio to contrast his agenda with incumbent Republican Sen. Rob Portman's, especially on issues including economic fairness and getting earned pay for overtime work. Wednesday's media event featuring Ted Strickland speaking to a small group about wealth disparities and pay for work was dubbed the "You Work It, You Earn It" Tour.

Vulnerable Republican senators have a big problem: Voters dona t know who they are

After nearly 12 years in the Senate, North Carolina Republican Richard Burr holds a dubious distinction: a lot of people in his home state don't know if he's any good at his job. The trouble for Burr was laid bare in a recent poll revealing 28 percent of his constituents cannot form an opinion about whether they approve of his job.

Labor groups launch attack ads against Rob Portman

COLUMBUS, Ohio-Two labor groups have announced they are launching modest ad campaigns in Ohio against Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman. One television ad from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees' PAC, hits Portman for his support of free trade.

Trump camp to Senate Republicans: No problem if you distance yourselves

Donald Trump's campaign is privately giving Senate Republicans in tough reelection races its blessing to avoid the presumptive nominee if he campaigns in their states, the latest effort by the unconventional candidate to build goodwill with a nervous GOP establishment. Last week at an off-the-record lunch meeting in Washington, Trump adviser Paul Manafort told Senate Republican chiefs of staff that the Trump campaign wants to be helpful to GOP senators in tough races, according to three sources in the room.