(Updated) The Rats Are Starting To Leave The Ship

Ohio Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown

Breitbart, Aug 6, 2024. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) will reportedly skip the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and will not be campaigning with Kamala Harris in her bid for president.

Brown, who finds himself in a difficult reelection battle in a state trending toward former President Donald Trump, will also reportedly not issue a defense of President Joe Biden’s handling of the Southern Border with Mexico, per CNN. Brown will instead keep his focus on Republican challenger Bernie Moreno by attacking his character and past business practices.

“It’s not left or right. It’s not who you vote for, for president,” Brown told CNN. “It’s who stands up for people in the state.”

Nearly all Senate Democrats in contested states have faced an uphill battle when asking voters to split the ticket between them and former President Donald Trump. As noted by CNN, “just one candidate in the 69 Senate races in 2016 and 2020 won when their state voted for a presidential candidate of the opposite party.” Brown intends to keep the focus strictly on Moreno in hopes that voters will make the leap by simultaneously voting for Trump and sticking with him. When asked if he would campaign with Harris, Brown said the two have different strategies.

“I’ve got my own schedule,” Brown said. “She’s got her own schedule. I will focus on my race. My strategy is perhaps different from hers … talking about the differences on abortion rights and on the minimum wage between Bernie Moreno and me and how I fight every day for the dignity of work.”

Brown also said he will skip the convention.

“I often skip conventions,” Brown said, adding that he will not defend Kamala’s record. “My job is to fight for Ohio workers. You can talk about the presidential race. That’s your job. … I know that what will matter is people vote for me because I stand up for workers and will continue to fight for workers.”

Democrats will have to retain Ohio if they hope to keep their small majority in the U.S. Senate, which they will likely lose this election cycle now that West Virginia may swing toward Republicans with Montana on the brink.

Bernie Moreno told CNN that Kamala Harris being at the top of the ticket will help his chances.

“Oh, it helps me tremendously,” Moreno said. “So maybe Scranton Joe had a little bit of credibility here in Ohio. San Francisco Kamala absolutely does not.”

(UPDATE)

Washington Examiner, Aug 8, 2024. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago in two weeks will see Democrats present a united front behind their ticket, but a few vulnerable Senate Democrats will not be making the trip.

While several Republicans, including Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME), skipped out on the Republican National Convention, many of the Democrats not going to the DNC include those up for election in November in races that could decide control of Congress.

Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Jon Tester (D-MT) will not be going to the DNC in Chicago, according to Punchbowl News. Brown has supported Vice President Kamala Harris for president but has kept his distance as he battles for reelection in increasingly Republican Ohio, while Tester has not endorsed Harris as he fights for his political life in Montana. The two senators are widely viewed as the most vulnerable incumbents in the chamber seeking reelection in November.

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), who is also facing a tough reelection battle, will not attend the DNC, according to the Nevada Independent, but will join Harris and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) for their rally in Las Vegas on Saturday. Rosen had kept her distance from President Joe Biden but appears to be testing the waters on attaching herself to the Harris-Walz ticket in November.

Democrats have a 51-49 majority in the Senate, including the four independent senators who caucus with them, but they are on the defensive in several states in November as Republicans eye taking back control of the chamber for the first time in four years.

At the RNC last month, the GOP candidates looking to oust vulnerable Democratic senators — including Bernie Moreno, Tim Sheehy, and Sam Brown, who are challengers to Sherrod Brown, Tester, and Rosen, respectively — had speaking slots.

As Democrats try to flip the House of Representatives from narrow GOP control, several House Democratic incumbents in vulnerable seats are also not attending the DNC. Reps. Yadira Caraveo (D-CO), Jared Golden (D-ME), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), among others, will not be at the convention, according to Punchbowl News.

The DNC is scheduled to occur from Aug. 19-22 in Chicago. While Democrats are expected to gather in celebration of their ticket, anti-Israel protesters have made known they intend to hold mass demonstrations in the city while the convention is occurring.