Ohio State Rep. Bob Hagan (D) was so incensed by Sen. Rob Portman's (R-Ohio) vote against background check legislation on Wednesday that he quickly went on Facebook and declared that he will be challenging the senator when he's up for reelection in 2016.
"Senator Portman shows his lack of courage and testicular fortitude. The NRA Owns him. I am declaring my candidacy for US Senate to run against him in the next election. I will be his hair shirt for the next three years," Hagan wrote.
As of Thursday, the post had received hundreds of likes and comments.
Portman was one of 46 senators who voted against bipartisan background check legislation on Wednesday. In a statement, he said he opposed the compromise worked out by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) because it contained "several provisions that would make it more difficult for law-abiding Ohioans to exercise their Constitutionally-guaranteed rights."
Hagan was first elected to the Ohio State House of Representatives in 1986, where he served for 10 years before being appointed to the state Senate. He was reelected to the state House in 2006.
Portman was the first GOP senator to reverse his stance on same-sex marriage in March, citing his gay son as the catalyst for his change of mind. Though he is not up for reelection until 2016, Portman could, as the Cleveland Plain Dealer points out, face a challenge from the right in the primary election because of his embrace of marriage equality.
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