'Pro-labor populist' Senator Brown hopes to beat the odds in GOP-leaning Ohio

Democratic strategists consider Ohio a must-win state if their party is going to keep its U.S. Senate majority in 2024. But Ohio has been trending GOP in recent years, and Democrats know that a lot is riding on Sen. Sherrod Brown's (D-Ohio) reelection campaign.

Brown is seeking a fourth term in a state that was won by Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 but went to Donald Trump in the two presidential elections after that.

The Washington Post's Camila DeChalus, in a report published on September 4, explains, "Now facing a tough reelection challenge in 2024, Brown is wagering that by casting himself as a pro-labor, progressive populist, he can retain support from white working-class voters whose embrace of former President Donald Trump has propelled Ohio's move to the right. His race offers a key test of whether Democrats could regain support in the key state and places like it, and will be closely watched as one of a few races where Democrats must defend seats in states that Trump won, as they seek to retain their Senate majority."

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In 2022, former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) ran what many Democratic strategists hailed as a strong campaign but still lost to now-Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) by about 7 perfect. Brown hopes to avoid that fate.

The Democratic senator told the Post, "If you support workers and understand the economy depends on building out from that rather than the trickle down, the demographic or whatever change of the state doesn't much matter."

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The Washington Post's full report is available at this link (subscription required).