Momentum grows for a Sherrod Brown presidential run during his final day in New Hampshire

[babylonsister]

Momentum grows for a Sherrod Brown presidential run during his final day in New Hampshire
Updated Feb 9, 10:15 PM; Posted Feb 9, 10:15 PM

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, speaks with a voter in New Hampshire during a visit to Gibson's Bookstore in Concord. More than 150 people showed up to see the senator, who is considering running for president, speak. (Seth A. Richardson, cleveland.com)

By Seth A. Richardson, cleveland.com


BERLIN, LACONIA, CONCORD and MANCHESTER, N.H. -- After a full day blanketing the state of New Hampshire, it appears a presidential run from Sen. Sherrod Brown is gaining momentum with voters.

Brown, an Ohio Democrat, was greeted at several stops Saturday in the Granite State by his largest crowds to date. The senator is currently on a listening tour of the early-primary states to test his message as he mulls whether to jump in the 2020 Democratic primary to challenge Republican President Donald Trump.

The day started with an early-morning roundtable in Berlin where about 25 people showed up. Another roundtable followed just past noon in Laconia, where another 50 people came out.

By Brown’s 3 p.m. stop at Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, a throng of more than 150 people packed the place for a meet and greet with the senator. He capped the night off by giving the keynote address during the New Hampshire Young Democrats’ annual fundraiser to an audience of about 350.

It was arguably the most successful quasi-campaign day for Brown yet and the latest sign he could be competitive in a growing field of primary candidates, even those with a head start. The group in Concord chose to come see Brown instead of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who held an event less than 40 miles away in Dover only hours after officially declaring her candidacy for president.

Unlike many of his other events where voters have come out of sheer curiosity, New Hampshirites on Saturday were generally more familiar with Brown, some through a recent spike in media coverage, but some having followed him for years.

Several who spoke with cleveland.com said they were already devoted to Brown should he decide to run.

more...

https://www.cleveland.com/politics/2019/02/momentum-grows-for-a-sherrod-brown-presidential-run-during-his-final-day-in-new-hampshire.html

[TexasBushwhacker]

1. I like him so much

And his wife, Connie Schultz, would be an amazing First Lady. Here's some of her work:

https://www.creators.com/read/connie-schultz/12/18/a-christmas-story

[kentuck]

2. I haven't decided on a candidate yet, but...

I think I will take a look at Sherrod Brown.

[safeinOhio]

7. So far I'm looking at

Brown, Warren and Harris. I love all 3 and it will be hard to pick.

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. A big part of me has been resisting the concept of nomination a straight white male for President

We need to shatter the glass ceiling. Our nation is well on its way toward having a majority minority electorate, and we've only had one Person of Color as President. If we've ever had a gay President they certainly haven't admitted it.

And yet I REALLY like Sherrod Brown. i think he would wipe the floor with Trump.

[SammyWinstonJack]

4. I'm ALL IN on ANYONE who would wipe the floor with tRUMP! ANYONE!

[Tom Rinaldo]

5. Hard to argue with that logic

From among those with an actual chance to win the Democratic nomination, there is no one I would not joyfully embrace if s/he would mop the floor with Trump.

[sellitman]

6. Yes indeed...

I agree with you 100%.

Couldn't have said it any better.

I'm leaning towards Kamala Harris strong now.

[Garrett78]

39. I think Harris would give us the greatest turnout.

And with Brown we'd lose a Senate seat that we simply cannot afford to lose. It's going to be tough enough getting to 50 or 51 seats.

[LisaL]

8. We have to go with the best candidate.

If that happens to be a white male, so be it.

[MH1]

13. Exactly. Especially if the white male is a really good liberal / progressive

despite their gender and skin color.

I do believe that breaking the glass ceiling is important for its own sake. But on the other hand, there's a segment of society that isn't ready yet. We need more leadership by women and minorities everywhere, then eventually the "dinosaur" segment will wither away to nothing. In the meantime we need to not lose the opportunity to oust Trump.

[Auggie]

18. Absolutely. There's an added plus to Brown: he pretty much ensures a win in Ohio.

[LuvNewcastle]

20. I think he's probably Trump's worst nightmare.

He's proven he can win elections in Ohio, a state Trump really needs to win. Brown could also pick off at least a couple of states on Ohio's border that went to Trump last time. He's got a lot going for him, and he's at or near the top of my list, but I'm keeping an open mind. There are a lot of candidates I really no nothing about, and I want to get an idea of what each one brings to the table.

[NewJeffCT]

9. I like Brown as well

Actually, I like a lot of the Democrats in the race - Harris, Warren, Castro, Klobuchar etc.

My concern with Brown is the allegations of domestic violence against him by his first wife. While she has reconciled with him and said it's not true, I'm sure somebody like shameless Trump will have no qualms bringing it up again.

[LisaL]

10. So some vague accusations made during a divorce which she now denies should derail a candidate?

Ex-wife fully supports him. But yet he shouldn't run because of that? We deserve to lose then.

[True Blue American]

17. If we listen to

Republicans we will lose.

I see nothing wrong with a Browm/ Harris,/ Warren/ O’Rourke or anything between.

[NewJeffCT]

29. the media will listen to Republicans

do you think they will magically stop buying the RW spin?

[babylonsister]

11. ...

https://www.cantonrep.com/news/20180913/sherrod-browns-ex-wife-refutes-claims-of-domestic-abuse

Sherrod Brown’s ex-wife refutes claims of domestic abuse

[MH1]

15. Isn't it amazing how JUST AN ACCUSATION manages to do dirty work.

Perhaps it's good to note this at this time and work on revising the norm of how we respond to accusations.

[pazzyanne]

22. YES! YES! and YES!

[NewJeffCT]

31. and that is how the RW will spin it

and the media will follow along like they always do

[LisaL]

35. This is an old debunked accusation that his republican opponent tried to use against him

in a Senate run. It didn't work.

[NewJeffCT]

30. again

Do you think the media will take the word of his ex-wife, or will they buy into the RW spin like they always do?

[LisaL]

36. And? Accusations can be made against anyone, and likely will be.

If you are saying that any accusations should prevent a candidate from running, we likely won't have any candidates. Democrats got to get a clue sometimes that accusations don't equal guilt.

[babylonsister]

37. And if we run from everything with a tint of

negativity manufactured by the rethugs, we won't have any candidates left.

[LisaL]

38. That's what I am saying. We will have nobody, since nobody is perfect.

And if we do somehow find a paragon of virtue without a blemish in his/her past, false accusations can be made.

[snpsmom]

12. I would

love to see a Harris/Brown or Brown/Harris ticket.

[Johnny2X2X]

16. Agree

I was going to post this. My 2 favorite candidates and they are stragically a very strong team.

[Freddie]

27. That would be a superb ticket!

And then she will run in 2028. We can dream.

[SidDithers]

14. The Democratic field in 2020 is going to be so deep and talented...

Sid

[Adrahil]

19. I like him. His views on trade have been simplistic...

... I will be curious to see if they have evolved in the wake of the failure of Trump’s tariffs. Also, do not want to lose his seat.

[jalan48]

21. I think a Brown/Harris ticket would be very strong.

[TeamPooka]

34. or Harris/Brown

[Lonestarblue]

23. I like Brown, but we risk the Senate.

If Brown runs and wins, his Senate seat will be filled by a Republican. The governor of Ohio is a Republican who will appoint another Republican. The 2020 election for the Senate is not particularly favorable for Democrats, even though Republicans have more seats to defend. It will not be easy to win a simple majority in the Senate, and losing Brown just makes it one seat harder and perhaps impossible.

I think he is far more valuable in the Senate because we have such good candidates for 2020. What we could be giving up is the opportunity to put a progressive on the Supreme Court. If Ginsburg retires, which I think she will sometime after 2020, a Republican-controlled Senate would not confirm a progressive and we thus give more power to the right-wing justices who are stronger in an eight-person Court.

I’m optimistic that we can keep the House and win the presidency in 2020, but without the Senate also we can’t accomplish some pretty important goals for healthcare and climate policies, as well as tax reform.

[Tom Rinaldo]

26. If I become convinced he would both make the best candidate, AND best President I'll risk it

We could be building toward another Blue wave year in 2020, if the head of our ticket doesn't stumble. If Brown is sure footed and strong, and can take it right to Trump, he might win us more Senate seats by topping the ticket than the loss of his seat in Ohio would cost.

[Garrett78]

40. We can't afford to lose a Senate seat. We're already at such a disadvantage.

And I think turnout for Harris would be greater anyway. Record-breaking, in fact.

[eleny]

24. Dems have such a deep bench

[lastlib]

25. I hate to rain on a parade.....

I like Sherrod Brown, I really like Kamala Harris, I like Elizabeth Warren, Booker is OK (not real sure about him yet)--but we also need to re-take the Senate! Unless we can be assured of replacing him/her with another Democrat, electing a Senator as president makes it that much harder to get the numbers we need to recapture the US Senate. I think we can do it, but we shouldn't make it any harder than it has to be.

My two cts. Maybe I'm totally off-base here, maybe the repugs in 2020 with tRump will be so toxic that we can't fail to take both houses and the White house (come on, Landslide!), but I just want to be sure. I'm just trying to look at a bigger picture here, and welcome other DU opinions.

[deurbano]

32. Harris and Booker's successors would be appointed by Democratic governors, if I'm understanding

correctly, while Brown's successor would be appointed by a Republican one... and then the appointed senator serves until a senate race is held as part of a statewide general election, with a Democratic senator assured in CA and (I assume) NJ, but not as likely in Ohio. In Mass, it seems Warren's seat would remain unfilled until a special election is held "145-160 days after vacancy occurs"... which means after her inauguration, I guess? Or after she isn't sworn in as senator in 2021?

http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vacancies-in-the-united-states-senate.aspx

[MH1]

33. Brown will have coattails in the mid-West.

Ohio's R gov will replace Brown with an R (but does Ohio legislature need to ratify the appointment?)

Maybe there is another R seat we can get with Sherrod's coattails, that we would not get with a coastal prez candidate.

[standingtall]

41. Maybe Georgia or Iowa

maybe even McConnell's seat. No we wont win Kentucky, but McConnell is not very popular even in Kentucky. A guy like Brown might be able to keep the margins down just enough to give the right Democratic candidate for senate a chance to pull off an upset in places like Georgia,Kentucky,Iowa and elsewhere.

[standingtall]

42. The Presidency is more important than the Senate

If Brown gives us the best chance to beat Trump than he should be our nominee. We have to beat Trump. I don't think this country can take 4 more years of him without being totally destroyed.

[samnsara]

28. if he and joe run my head will 'splode..

[Horizens]

43. Want to Win ?

With Sherrod Brown at the top of the ticket the Dems win Ohio, MI, PA, Wi, NY, NJ, CT, RI, VT, MD, VA, DE, MA, VA,
DC, MN, OR,CA, NM and IL. That's 277 Electoral votes - enough to win. No other candidate can make that claim.

AZ, NC, ME and FL would also be in Play.

I was thinking that Amy Klobucher would be the perfect running mate but now have doubts given the news about her this week.