U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, at times has taken stances on the issues that he must have known risked alienating some voters. So when he announced he is retracting his support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, he did so out of principle, not politics.

Portman’s decision was based on release of a video in which Trump several years ago made crude, unacceptable comments about women. It was the last straw for Portman, who said he previously had stuck with Trump out of respect for the many Americans who have voted for the candidate.

As probably should have been expected, Ted Strickland, the Democrat candidate for the Senate seat, accused Portman of being cowardly. He questioned Portman’s timing in retracting support from Trump, implying it was to win votes.

Portman’s record of placing principle before politics speaks for itself.

But while we’re on the subject of supporting candidates, Strickland remains a staunch backer of Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, despite her own character flaws and her desire to wreck the coal industry and thus eliminate reasonably priced electricity.

When, one may ask, will Strickland stop supporting his party’s candidate for president?