Republican Rob Portman says he and Senator Orrin hatch wrote the tax agency after hearing complaints from some conservative groups that they were being unfairly targeted.

“We unfortunately have now learned a year later that our suspicions that we had were correct, and that is that the IRS employees were using inappropriate political screenings,” Portman says. “They used key words like we the people, patriots, limited government.”

Three congressional committees are investigating and Attorney General Eric Holder says the FBI is looking into potential civil rights violations at the IRS.

President Barack Obama says Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew asked for and accepted Acting Commissioner Steven T. Miller’s resignation.

Miller’s departure came five days after the IRS revealed that agents had improperly targeted groups with “tea party” or “patriots” in their in their applications for tax-exempt status. It came a day after an inspector general’s report blamed ineffective management in Washington for allowing it to happen for more than 18 months.

Democratic Rep. Bob Hagan of Youngstown says he has disagreed with Republican US Senator Rob Portman on changes to collective bargaining laws, on environmental issues, and on same sex marriage before Portman’s headline-making change of heart.

But it was Portman’s vote against the measure to require tighter background checks on gun buyers that made Hagan decide to challenge Portman in the 2016 election.

I’m going to be the hair shirt of his campaign. I’m going to follow wherever he is and make him itch and answer the questions. Why did he ignore the public – like, by the way, most of those Senators have been doing in the US Senate for way too long. They’ve been beholden to too many lobbyists, and I’m going to take them on because of that.

Hagan says this isn’t a stunt – he’s been considering other offices, including Congressman Tim Ryan’s seat if Ryan had decided to run for the Democratic nomination for governor next year. In many ways, Hagan seems an unlikely choice as a US Senate candidate.

He has a long history in the Statehouse, but has never run statewide. He is unabashedly liberal, enjoying strong support from unions and Democratic groups. And because he’s been in a safe district for many years, he hasn’t had to raise much money.

But Ohio Democratic Party Chair Chris Redfern, Hagan’s colleague in the Ohio House, stands behind him.

“Bob Hagan can win anywhere. If you take the truth to the people of this state, you’re going to win. Sherrod Brown proved it. You know, Barack Obama proved it.”

In his weekly conference call with reporters, Rob Portman said he voted against the background checks bill because he didn’t feel it would stop future gun violence but might infringe on gun owners’ rights. He was also asked about Hagan’s possible campaign against him based on this vote.

For me this isn’t about politics yet. This is about principle and I take that very seriously as do a lot of my constituents. So instead of making this partisan, I’ll be continuing to try to find solutions to gun violence and to this culture of violence.

Portman says he received what he called a lot more letters from Ohioans against the background checks bill than for it.

But a Quinnipiac poll last month showed 90 percent of Ohio voters – including 86 percent of households where there is a gun – favored background checks for all gun purchases.

The debate over immigration and its effects on the U.S. job market occurs against the backdrop of a struggling job recovery and concerns expressed by some business leaders of a skills mismatch. The Timken Company is a global steel manufacturer headquartered in Canton. Chairman, Tim Timken, sees shortages of skilled workers in the near future. And he says new immigration legislation could help.

“I think immigration is a critical part of this overall puzzle. Because the fact of the matter is we’ve got an aging workforce in the state of Ohio. We’ve got growth from an economic point of view so you create this gap, and in northeast Ohio the numbers we find are about 200,000, so you multiply that by the state and it’s a significant number.” Says Timken.

Whatever the statewide number, Timken says worker shortages in Ohio are a problem for manufacturers and other sectors of the state’s economy.

“One way to fill that is to make sure is that we not only keep our young people here in the state, but also we attract new people to the state and a big part of that is through legal immigration.” Timken says.

Since 2010, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says Ohio has added 141-thousand jobs. Part of that job growth results from oil and natural gas drilling in eastern Ohio counties. Chesapeake Energy Corporation Vice President Scott Rotruck says worker training programs are more important to his industry than immigration reform. But, he says the oil and gas industry is in constant need of trained petrochemical and design engineers. And he welcomes immigrant students that have such advanced college degrees.

“What you want to do, you like to think about keeping your own students in Ohio. What’s really better is if you keep somebody else’s. They come here to school, they find a place, and they stay.” Says Rotruck.

But, labor force considerations remain a possible hitch in the eventual approval of an immigration bill, Acting Secretary of Labor, Seth Harris said as much during a recent visit to Columbus.

“There is a risk that a split in the business community or a split between the business community and the labor movement could get in the way.” Says Harris.

Among the provisions in the bill reported by The Associated Press is a new guest worker program for farm laborers. There’s also been discussion among senate negotiators to allow thousands of restaurant, hospitality and health care workers to enter the country legally by 2020. Republican U-S Senator from Ohio, Rob Portman, says the senate has momentum to pass immigration reform and realities at the workplace are helping.

“Well, labor force considerations are helping the bill right now because, as you know, the labor unions, the chamber of commerce have worked out an agreement on these temporary worker programs. There’ll be limits and there’ll be the necessity for advertising to be sure there are no American workers who would otherwise take the job.” Says Portman.

If the full senate passes a comprehensive immigration reform bill, the measure would then move on to the U.S. House of Representatives.

During an interview Thursday in Washington, Portman said his evolution on the subject of gay marriage began in 2011 when his son, Will, then a freshman at Yale University, told his parents he was gay.

Portman says his new views reflect “a change of heart from the position of a father” and that he first talked to his pastor and others, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, whose daughter is a lesbian.

As a member of the House in 1996, Portman voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman and bars federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

“Not directly of city workers. What is possible is some of our positions, we have some positions who work within our departments who are funded by federal funds. So there is some potential for layoffs for some federally funded workers.” Says Williamson.

Williamson says Coleman is among local officials who met with house republican leaders on Wednesday. In the U.S. senate, Republican Rob Portman says some of his constituents support less federal spending.

“I will tell you, they believe, people I’m talking to that there is waste in Washington and there are ways for Washington to tighten their belt just like they’ve had to do in their families, in their businesses.” Portman says.

The automatic spending cuts, if they’re allowed to take full effect, require the federal government to cut $85 billion in spending between now and September 30.

View a list of local services that Coleman say will be impacted by sequestration.

“I do have some very serious concerns about Senator Hagel’s views on the issues. So, I will be listening carefully. These are incredibly important issues.” Says Portman.

Portman characterized his concerns about Hagel’s views as “very serious.” The Senate Armed Services commitee will conduct the confirmation hearings before the full senate votes.

That could bode well for Ohio.

Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Rob Portman are among the 20 senators who will be taking the closest look at everything from taxes to trade agreements, Medicare, Social Security and the overall economic well-being at the United States.

University of Kansas political scientist Burdett Loomis edited a book called “The U.S. Senate: from Deliberation to Dysfunction.” Despite the title, he says the Senate has been a more bipartisan and functional place than the House in recent weeks, and having Portman and Brown on the key committee is a bonus.

“I do think that you’ve got two very different senators but both senators are smart, and I think can work to the advantage of Ohioans across the board. And in that sense, I think you’re very lucky,” Loomis says.

Loomis says much of the advantage may be behind the scenes, but expects key interests of the Buckeye state – such as the auto industry – will get attention from the powerful Senate Finance Committee.

“My name is Rob Portman, and they say I was on Gov. Romney’s short list of vice presidential candidates. Apparently, it wasn’t short enough.”

Then Portman launched into President Obama on economic issues ranging from the national debt to free trade.

You have to liberate the productive power of the American people through policies that encourage innovation, risk taking, investment and jobs. And you have to compete and win in the global economy. Gov. Romney understands this.

He claimed President Obama has been too distracted by expanding the size of the federal government in other areas to pay attention to developing trade agreements.

“Now why is this important? Because 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside our borders. And to create jobs, our workers and our farmers need to sell more of what we make to those people.”

Portman was the U.S. trade representative under former President George W. Bush, as well as his budget director. His speech didn’t touch on that, nor did it mention the last Republican president. But in a flurry of responses, Democrats gave prominent attention to both.

Obama for America – Ohio Press Secretary Jessica Kershaw called Portman “a dedicated out outsourcer of American jobs to China and chief architect of the failed Bush economic policies.”

She also pointed to a Dayton Daily News analysis that shows Ohio exports hit a record level of nearly $25 billion in the first half of this year.

But Republican delegates, like former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomers say Portman’s resume adds weight to his criticism of President Obama.

“This is a really moving convention. Now that sounds odd to be in the middle of all this hoopla and say it’s moving. But because we are really addressing the most important election inour lives, listening to these people who are speaking from the heart, this isn’t alla bout winning and election, it’s about returning America.”

Portman’s speech was the last prominent role during this convention for Ohioan speakers. But Ohio will continue to get plenty of attention from both Mitt Romney and President Obama. In a span of three days, beginning Friday with a visit to Lordstown by Vice President Joe Biden, all four presidential and vice presidential candidates will be in Ohio.

Excuse me. That’s a bad choice of words. Romney, of course, is not poor. He’s rich, very rich. Forbes magazine this year put his wealth at $230 million.

Wealth’s not a disqualifier in politics. Romney, however, wears his wealth like a badge of superiority. Too often he comes across as the rich guy you met in college who thought he could say whatever he wanted, wherever he was.

It’s hard for voters to relate to people who need elevators for their cars and casually offer to make a $10,000 bet, as Romney did with Texas Gov. Rick Perry during the Republican primaries. Then there was the matter of fact way Romney insulted the Brits about their preparations for the London Olympics. He can’t seem to understand why people wonder how much he’s paid in income taxes over the years.

With the Republican convention coming up soon, Romney’s working hard to close the likeability gap with President Barack Obama, who’s ahead on that warm and fuzzy indicator despite an economy that’s still at least partly in the tank.

Romney must win Ohio to become president and the state offers plenty of examples of millionaires who didn’t let fat pocketbooks interfere with appealing to voters.

The Democrats, those self-proclaimed men and women of the people, provided Ohioans with a golden age of millionaire winners from 1977 to 1995.

That’s when John Glenn and Howard Metzenbaum served together in the U.S. Senate.

Glenn, from a modest background, made his money through wise investments after a career of self-sacrifice as a Marine fighter pilot in two wars and the first American to orbit the earth. At 91, he’s still self-effacing and has built up so much good will that he probably could make a political comeback.

Metzenbaum, who died at 90 in 2008, was never self-effacing and earned the title “Headline Howard.” He was born poor but shoved his way to wealth with hard work and good ideas such as developing airport parking lots. Metzenbaum was never ashamed to be called a liberal even if other rich guys labeled him a “traitor to his class.” He wore wing tips, not flip flops. Metzenbaum loved to peel back the veneer of country-club civility to reveal policies that he thought hurt the consumers, minorities and working men and women.

Democrats don’t have a monopoly on vote-getting millionaires.

Republicans Mike DeWine, the Ohio attorney general, and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman both come from wealthy families but that hasn’t stopped them from winning elections.  DeWine, whose family ran a seed business, has been around Ohio politics for nearly 40 years. In 2006, when DeWine still was a U.S. senator, his net worth was between $14 million and $59 million, according to OpenSecrets.

He’s won often and lost a time or two. He’s always good, old Mike, tie slightly disheveled and maybe a scuff on his shoes. DeWine’s signature campaign event is an ice cream social at his home near Cedarville. No DeWine campaign is complete until spouse Fran passes out her famous cookbooks.

There’s nothing disheveled about Republican Sen. Rob Portman, who’s worth between $7 million and $20 million, according to the Columbus Dispatch. His wealth includes a share of the company that owns the historic Golden Lamb restaurant in Lebanon. He’s as spit and polished as Romney, with a crease in his jeans. Had Romney picked Portman for his running mate, the ticket would have set a good-grooming standard.

There’s grit in Portman’s cheery smile, however. When he was a college student, he learned how the non-rich live when he ground old paint off worn-out trucks and did other grimy summer jobs at the family forklift business in Cincinnati. “Rob didn’t come to drink coffee. He came in to get the job done,” Portman’s boss told me.

Time’s short for Romney. It’s too late to become a national hero like Glenn. The “give-em-hell” Howard approach would be one flip flop too many. Portman’s family sold the fork lift business, so no temporary blue collar job is available.

DeWine and Romney so far have had chilly relations. The attorney general and his wife are loyal Republicans, however. They’d probably be glad to put on an ice cream social and pass out cookbooks.

DeWine could even loosen Mitt’s tie.

Portman describes Armstrong as a good friend and advisor. Few details on the private Friday ceremony have been released. A spokesman for the Armstrong family says a public memorial service is a possibility.

Armstrong died Saturday, days after undergoing heart bypass surgery.