Aug 14, 2024 - Politics & Policy

The Dems ditching Chicago

Stephen Neukam

Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) (R) talks with committee member Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) during a hearing about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on December 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. — Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) (R) talks with Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) during a hearing on Capitol Hill on December 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Senate's three most vulnerable Democrats are skipping next week's Democratic National Convention in Chicago — an effort to fence their campaigns off from the top of the ticket.

Sens. Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Jon Tester (Mont.) and Jacky Rosen (Nev.) all plan to campaign back home instead, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Vice President Kamala Harris and running-mate Tim Walz both hail from the party's liberal wing. So endangered Democrats are localizing their campaigns whenever they can, in an effort to project a moderate face.

Brown and Tester both represent states Tump handily won twice, meaning they'll all-but-certainly have to outperform Harris by significant margins to stave off their GOP opponents on Nov. 5.
Rosen also may need to outrun Harris in swing-state Nevada, which President Biden won in 2020 by less than 3 percentage points.

Between the lines: Concerns that Biden could be a drag on their chances have long led Brown, Tester and Rosen to keep the president at arm's length.

Harris' relatively strong poll numbers have contributed to some Democrats, including Rosen, being more open to appearing alongside her.

Rosen and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) appeared at home-state events with Harris this month, and Brown has formerly endorsed the vice president, while Tester has held off.
But even for those more open to Harris than Biden, appearing at the party's convention holds risk but little reward. Several Republicans senators also skipped last month's RNC.

Zoom out: Other Democrats in competitive Senate races that are headed to Chicago include Baldwin and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), as well as Michigan's Elissa Slotkin and Maryland's Angela Alsobrooks.

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The Dems ditching Chicago

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