Sen. Sherrod Brown Skipping DNC Amid Tough Reelection Battle in Ohio

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) speaks at a press conference outside of the U.S. Capitol Building, on April 18, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is skipping the Democratic National Convention (DNC) for the first time in his 31-year congressional career as he faces a tough reelection battle in his home state.

Brown told CNN that he often skips conventions and doesn’t plan to go to the DNC in Chicago, which will be held from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22.

As an elected Democrat member of Congress, Brown is considered a superdelegate. Superdelegates don’t vote in the first roll call at the convention, which will be merely symbolic since Vice President Kamala Harris is already the Democratic Party’s nominee, after a virtual roll call this month.

While a roll call to nominate Harris will occur at the DNC, it will be nonbinding and ceremonial.

Brown is seeking a fourth term in office in a tight race against a wealthy auto businessman, Republican Bernie Moreno. The RealClearPolitics average of polls shows Brown leading by 5 percentage points. An AARP poll shows Brown leading Moreno, 46 percent to 42 percent with 11 percent undecided.

Polls show former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, leading Harris in Ohio, by 11.5 percentage points, according to the RealClearPolitics average. That could advantage Moreno through him riding Trump’s coattails as long as there is insufficient split-ticket voting.

Additionally, Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, is a senator from Ohio.

In the 2016 presidential election, Trump won Ohio by almost 447,000, or 8.07 percentage points. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) won reelection that year, although by 20.87 percentage points.

In his interview with CNN, Brown implied that he won’t be tethered to Harris and suggested that he won’t be campaigning alongside her.

“I’ve got my own schedule,” he said. “She’s got her own schedule. I will focus on my race. My strategy is perhaps different from hers.”

Brown said his “job is to fight for Ohio workers.”

Moreno told CNN that he benefits from Brown being on the same ticket as Harris. Moreno has been loyal to Trump, who endorsed him in the GOP primary in March.

“President Trump is a transformational leader for America and we are so excited to rally with him ahead of Tuesday’s crucial election,” Moreno said in a statement ahead of the primary election in March, according to local media reports.

“President Trump knows just how important this election is—it’s a contest between the America-First Republican Party and the broken down RINO establishment,” he said, using the acronym for Republicans in Name Only.

Brown has a huge campaign cash advantage over Moreno, according to the Federal Election Commission. He has raised more than $52.8 million and spent more than $43.43 million, leaving $10.74 million cash on hand.

Moreno, on the other hand, has raised $15.81 million and spent more than $11.2 million. He has almost $4.46 million in cash remaining.

During his three-term tenure in the Senate, Brown has been known as a working-class progressive, advocating for measures to protect American workers.

He was last reelected in 2018, defeating former Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) by 300,949 votes, or 6.82 percentage points.

Brown was first elected to Congress in 1992, serving in the House between 1993 and 2007.

He spoke at the DNC in 2016, when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was nominated as the party’s presidential candidate.