Sherrod Brown’s 'perseverance' gives him a good shot at reelection in 'full MAGA' Ohio

12 January 2024

When three-term Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) was elected to the U.S. Senate during the blue wave of 2006, Ohio was much more Democrat-friendly than it is now. President George W. Bush won Ohio in 2000 and 2004, while the state went to President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

Brown was reelected in 2012 and 2018; in 2024, however, Brown faces what could be his most challenging U.S. Senate campaign yet — as Ohio has grown increasingly Republican.

But in an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on January 12, Ohio-based journalist Daniel McGraw argues that Brown's "perseverance" gives him a good shot at winning a fourth term despite being a Democrat in a state that has gone "full MAGA."

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"While Sherrod Brown has been a steady political presence for decades," McGraw writes, "the state of Ohio has recently undergone drastic changes. Brown was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, and he won his Senate seat in 2006. During that period, Ohio was a bellwether state with a Democratic lean. That had a lot to do with the union-heavy manufacturing base in the Cleveland area, where Brown is from."

McGraw continues, "In recent years, though, Ohio has gone full MAGA. The clearest sign of this is not even that Trump won the state so easily two times. It's that in the 2022 midterm election for Ohio's other Senate seat, the populist Republican newcomer and venture capitalist J.D. Vance was able to dispatch Tim Ryan, a Democrat with a two-decade tenure in the House, by six points. What did Vance have to campaign on? Chiefly, just one thing: a Trump endorsement."

But McGraw points out that polls show Brown "leading every Republican primary contender" who is hoping to go up against him in the general election. In Ohio, McGraw stresses, GOP-leaning voters react differently to Brown than they react to northeastern Democrats.

"Here's something it's important for people who aren't from around here to understand: After all the years Brown has spent in politics, voters seem to find him to be more 'knowable' than most elected officials," McGraw explains. "Not necessarily likable — but knowable in the sense that he reminds you of someone else you know. This knowability helps Brown in a very specific way: Most Ohioans or other Midwesterners, who trust their impressions of him, wouldn't think of him as a typical Democrat. He seems more grounded than that."

The Ohio resident continues, "He has built a reputation for advocating for the interests of blue-collar Americans, while his Democratic colleagues — read: 'East Coast elites' — have alienated many of them by appearing to care more about climate change, racial injustice, and other issues that are coded as the bespoke concerns of the well-educated upper middle class."

Daniel McGraw's full article for The Bulwark is available at this link.

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