Is Sherrod Brown thinking of running for president?

[highplainsdem]

Bill Kristol thinks he is, at least partly based on a Cleveland.com article published yesterday:


Kristol's tweet:

Link to tweet

If by Labor Day Biden is faltering and Buttigieg hasn't taken off and Dems seem to be looking at a top tier of blue state senators (MA, VT, CA, perhaps NJ), I've got to think Brown gets in as a Midwestern labor Dem who could unite the party and beat Trump.

Article at Cleveland.com:

https://www.cleveland.com/politics/2019/07/sherrod-brown-calls-electability-a-myth-to-liberal-crowd.html

In his roughly 10-minute address to the crowd in Philadelphia at Netroots Nation – a convention geared toward liberal activism and politics – Brown pumped up his Democratic bona fides and reiterated his criticism of Republican President Donald Trump, including calling him a racist.

-snip-

“The electability myth is, in fact, a myth. Let me tell you why,” Brown said. “Donald Trump won Ohio by almost double digits in 2016. Last year I won re-election by almost 7 points. I didn’t compromise on women’s rights. I never compromised on LGBTQ rights.”

Brown won re-election to a third term in 2018, the only Democrat to win statewide partisan office just two years after Trump, a Republican, won the state by 8 percentage points.

Following his November victory, he openly explored the idea of running for the presidency. Ironically, before deciding against a White House bid, voters often described Brown as “electable.”

-snip-

Brown’s Philadelphia address is the beginning of a busy weekend for the senator. On Sunday, he’ll travel to El Paso to visit the border and meet with immigration activists. On Monday, he’ll be in Pittsburgh for the installation of new officers for the United Steelworkers.

If it starts to look as though Biden won't be our nominee, I'd love to see Sherrod Brown enter the race. I'd prefer him to Sanders, Warren and Harris.

And I do think he's electable, so I'm not at all surprised to see in that article that voters describe him that way.

[BeyondGeography]

1. Is this our quick, another white guy strategy?

I love Brown but when you’re talking “electability” here you’re really talking identity more than anything else. Policy-wise he brings nothing to the table that isn’t already there. The OH advantage is nice but I don’t see him generating as much enthusiasm among women as Warren or Harris so that’s pretty much a wash IMO.

[dsc]

3. Exactly two Democrats have won statewide races in Ohio since 2006

Brown and Obama but yeah it is just his being a white male that makes him electable.

[philf99]

22. Actually 3

Bill O'Neil won a seat on The Ohio Supreme Court in 2012

[dsc]

25. sorry I forgot about him

but yes it was 3.

[highplainsdem]

4. Nope, and that's an insulting take. I've always liked Brown, and I think his appeal to voters

is very similar to Biden's. If for any reason Biden stops being the front-runner, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Brown could quickly become the front-runner if he entered the race.

As for your objection that "Policy-wise he brings nothing to the table that isn’t already there" -- that's an objection that's been made for months by supporters of other current candidates against other candidates in the race.

I don't see why it should apply to Brown more than any of the others.

[northoftheborder]

2. Love Brown.

[MaryMagdaline]

5. He was my first choice. I contributed money.

If he doesn’t run, he’d make a great VP choice.

[Ohiogal]

6. I love Sherrod Brown

and can you imagine having Connie Schultz as First Lady?!?! Night and day from the present empty wooden mannequin in the WH now.

[highplainsdem]

8. Connie Schultz would be a great First Lady.

[demmiblue]

17. Conner Schultz is one of a kind. A recent tweet interaction:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[BootinUp]

7. He was my pick.

[RainCaster]

9. Don't we have enough great candidates already?

Look at it from an abstract POV. In the 2016 election, the GOP had a large group of candidates, and the Russian media trolls made mincemeat of them to get DFT elected. Will it be any different in the 2020 election? We have so many small groups of people who want their 1-3% candidate to "win", that it's likely they will be destroyed by those Russian media clowns. The weakest candidate (as chosen by Putin) will then get torn apart by the GOP, with Vlad's help, in the general election.

[highplainsdem]

10. We've had a lot of candidates for months. I don't see any reason why Brown shouldn't join

the race, if he wants to.

[hlthe2b]

11. IDK, but when has Bill Kristol been correct about anythin? (granted, he is anti-Trump, but still)

[highplainsdem]

12. I can't be sure if Kristol's right, but he's reacting to that article, and I agree with him that it

sounds as if Brown might be thinking of running.

I'd be very surprised if there aren't a lot of people around him urging him to run.

[flamingdem]

13. He lacks name recognition in much of the country

Especially coming in so late to the game that's not going to create a big impact, I believe.

[highplainsdem]

14. True at this point, but if he entered the race he'd immediately get so much media attention that

would change quickly.

[forthemiddle]

24. But not in the Midwest, where votes are needed

Let’s face it, California and New York, along with the rest of the Coastlines will go for the Dem candidate no matter what.
Why not go for someone that captures the Midwest too? I think those candidates could be Sherrod Brown, or my choice Amy Klobuchar?

[brooklynite]

15. I know Sherrod; I know his daughter Elizabeth (former Ohio Dem Party Chair)

He's not running.

[Andy823]

16. If Biden gets to that point

where it looks like he can't win the nomination, it will be because someone else has passed him up, and he can't possibly regain his momentum. So I am pretty sure whoever overtakes him will be the new front runner, and I really doubt if Brown would jump and and try to take over.

Contrary to what some say, we have other candidates that can take trump on, and win the general election.

[bearsfootball516]

18. Didn't he already say a few months ago that he wasn't running?

[marylandblue]

21. He did. And I don't see him changing his mind.

[blue neen]

19. Hmm. Love Sherrod Brown.

He could win, and that's what it's all about. We've got to beat the Orange Monster.

[marylandblue]

20. Bill Kristol is not the sharpest tool in the shed.

In an article where Brown attacks the idea of electability, Kristol concludes that Brown would run because he is electable.

[snowybirdie]

23. I tend to discount

any suggestions on Democratic Candidates from Republicans. Remember, Bill is the guy who brought Sarah Palin into the political discussion.

[elleng]

26. Bill Kristol Doesn't Want Any More Credit for Sarah Palin's Career.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/08/bill-kristol-doesnt-want-any-more-credit-sarah-palins-career/311984/