Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is planning trips to the early primary states, and if he chooses to run, he would present the most direct threat to Joe Biden’s potential presidential candidacy than any other candidate.
Aside from name recognition and experience, the biggest argument Biden can make to a Democratic electorate is that he can recapture working class voters. Given the priority Democrats will place on beating President Trump, that isn’t nothing. At the same time, however, Biden carries many liabilities. Highest among them are his age and the fact that over the course of his career, he’s taken many center-left positions that put him at odds with the young, energetic, liberal wing of the party.
Biden’s candidacy would present Democratic primary voters classic choices: Do I choose somebody who could potentially appeal to a broader electorate? Or do I choose somebody more aligned with my views? Do I want somebody more experienced? Or somebody who shares my values?
Brown has a compelling case to make that he could bring the best of all worlds. He’s not only been one of the most liberal members of the Senate for the past 12 years, but he has done it while winning three statewide elections in Ohio, which has trended red over his time in the Senate. And needless to say, it’s hard to see any path to victory for Trump that does not involve winning Ohio.
Over at the Washington Post, Greg Sargent interviews Brown, who discusses his proposals to provide more subsidies to lower-income families and explores how Democrats may win back Trump voters. On Twitter, liberal Richard Yeselson reminds us that Brown isn’t some recent convert to progressivism — he was a steadfast liberal during his time in the House, having voted against both the Defense of Marriage Act and the Iraq War at a time when center-left Democrats felt they needed to support those measures.
Brown also found a way to wrap progressive ideology in the sort of patriotic language often employed by Republicans. Just check out this ad from his 2006 Senate race, in which he walks in front of a closed plant, blames bad trade deals for job losses among those who “work hard” and “love their country,” and vows, “In the U.S. Senate I’ll judge U.S. trade agreements by this standard: Are they fair to America? Do they put Americans first?” It could basically have been a Trump 2016 ad:
At 66, Brown would be much closer to the age of a traditional presidential candidate than Biden. In addition, unlike some of the other Democratic challengers, it will be hard for Biden to argue that by voting for Brown, they’d be taking a risk on somebody too young and inexperienced. Brown has been in Congress for over 25 years, which came after nearly two decades of serving in state-level government.
No doubt, Brown is far from a slam dunk. Among other things, it remains unclear whether Democrats are ready to nominate another white male. But if I were on Biden’s team, I would be most worried about Brown.
