Sherrod Brown 2020?: Ohio Democrat Eyes Presidential Run

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown is considering a 2020 presidential run, he told The Columbus Dispatch. The Democrat won a third term last week, defeating Republican Rep. Jim Renacci by 6 points.

Brown told the newspaper that he is hearing “sort of a crescendo” of interest in him pursuing a 2020 run. “We’re hearing it increase, so we’re thinking about it as a result,” he added. “We’re not close to saying yes.”

Brown showed surprising Democratic strength in his re-election victory. While he held on for a third term, Ohio Republicans swept the other statewide races and maintained their majority in the state’s Congressional delegation. Ohio backed President Donald Trump by eight points in the 2016 presidential election, a bigger margin than he won by in Republican strongholds like Georgia and Arizona.

Brown’s personal life could prove contentious, although Republican attack ads focusing on the messy divorce from his first wife did not appear to hurt his electoral standing in the Senate race.

Republicans repeatedly highlighted the 1986 divorce on the campaign, specifically noting the restraining order that his ex-wife Larke Recchie obtained after she alleged he pushed her while trying to enter their home. Recchie denounced the attacks and hosted fundraisers for Brown, touting her support for his re-election.

Brown told The Dispatch that voters ignored the personal attacks because “voters in Ohio trust me.” He added that he expects a potential campaign against Trump to be “similarly nasty” and for the divorce to be raised again.

Brown told The Dispatch of his presidential considerations after sounding an awful lot like a candidate in an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“I respect the dignity of work, and I think that’s what Washington forgets about,” he said, adding that his Senate campaign “was about workers and the direction we need to go.”

The Ohio Republican Party said in a statement that Brown should resign from the Senate if he runs and added that they expect Trump to win his re-election.

“When Sherrod Brown decides to run for the Democrat nomination he should do the right thing and resign from the Senate,” Ohio Republican Party spokesman Blaine Kelly said in a statement. “Ohioans deserve to have two dedicated senators in Washington and Governor-elect Mike DeWine will appoint the perfect replacement. Regardless of Brown’s final decision, we look forward to President Trump’s re-election in 2020.”

Election experts warned that Brown faces an uphill climb if he decides to run. Jennifer Duffy of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report noted that potential 2020 candidates Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar won their re-election battles too, but they also traveled the country raising money ahead of a possible 2020 bid. Warren won her Massachusetts re-election race by nearly 25 points. Klobuchar won her Minnesota race by a similar margin.

David Cohen, a political science professor at the University of Akron, told The Dispatch that Brown’s main value could be his strength in the pivotal swing state and his ability to resonate with voters there.

“If he were to secure the nomination, Ohio would absolutely be in play which is pretty enormous considering the 18 electoral votes it brings along with it,” he said, adding that Brown “has proven throughout the years he knows how to win elections in purple states like Ohio.”

“He is a progressive but he’s also a populist,” he said. “He knows how to talk to folks on all ends of the political spectrum and people respect him because he really is authentic. In a normal time I think Sherrod Brown would not even consider running for president, because he loves being a U.S. senator. It’s his dream job and he seems to love every minute of it. But we’re not living in a normal time and I think he’s feeling pressure that maybe he has a higher calling.”

Brown will certainly have plenty of competition if he decides to jump into the mix. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who won her own re-election race by 33 points last week, said that she is eying a run. California Rep. Eric Swalwell is also building a team ahead of a potential run, Politico reported, as is former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, according to CNBC. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and California Senator Kamala Harris are just a few of the other candidates rumored to be plotting a 2020 bid.

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