[image-1]Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman spoke at the Lincoln Day Dinner in Seneca County, an event sponsored by the Seneca County Republican Party. (Seneca County is just south of Sandusky.) Before the event, Portman’s staff made the decision to check the political party registration of each attendee and then deny entry to event-goers who were registered as Democrats, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Registered Democrats’ tickets were refunded for the event, and those people weren’t allowed in. Outside, hundreds gathered together and protested the unexpected decision, as the News-Messenger reports. More than a few people chanted “Shame” at the registered Republicans walking into the event.

It’s possible, of course, that after seeing the town halls all over the U.S. where constituents showed up in great numbers to ask questions of their Republican representatives, Portman and his camp didn’t want the same thing to happen to them. Compared to past congressional recesses each February, this year has seen a lot of Republicans straight-up hiding from their base.

David Koehl, treasurer of the Seneca County Republican Party, did not agree with Portman’s decision to ban Democrats. He told the Dispatch, “It’s my personal opinion that these people should be allowed in. Portman and his office are afraid protesters will show up. They made this decision a week ago, but several people have been refunded on short notice.”

The idea that elected officials only represent those who voted for them is a dangerous precedent, but it’s not difficult to trace the influence of this sentiment, as the president himself has been fairly open about this idea.


At last week’s bizarre press conference, President Donald Trump said, “They (protesters) fill up our rallies with people that, you wonder how they get there, but they’re not the Republican people that the representatives are representing.”

Portman’s office did not respond to a request from Scene to comment on the matter.

This article appears in Feb 22-28, 2017.

5 replies on “Sen. Rob Portman Bans Democrats from Speaking Event, Fundraiser in Ohio”

  1. Fyi, Portman’s Cleveland office is claiming this article is untrue. At least tgat is what I was told when I called.

  3. Portman started supporting gay rights only after it personally affected him. He completely lacks empathy. Imagine what other opinions he holds based soley on his privileged perspective.

  4. Was Portman’s staff checking political affiliations of event attendees while on-the-clock as senatorial employees? It does not sound like a task that fits into the permitted daily jobs of staffers. There is a clear line on campaign-orientated work that cannot be crossed.

  5. Our elected officials represent ALL Americans, not just Republican Americans. Their vote should be in the best interest of their home state. Not in the best interest of their campaign donors that don’t even live in their state. And, their door should be open to all people in the state of Ohio. Back in 2009, when the new Tea Party Republicans were filling up Town Hall meetings, the Democrats stood there and listened. Guess the cowards in the Republican party don’t want to defend their positions to our faces. Cowards!

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