Speaking of dumb campaign commercials, there are now a bunch of hastily thrown together commercials running on evening TV talking about how Sherrod Brown and Kamala Harris are besties, apparently. They seem quite desperate.

Democrat Sherrod Brown and author Connie Schultz move to Columbus area

 

Goodbye Cleveland, hello Columbus: former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and his wife, Connie Schultz, moved to a new house in the suburb of Bexley.

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/19/democrat-sherrod-brown-moved-from-cleveland-to-columbus/82551500007/

Could that mean...governor is on the table?

12 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

Could that mean...governor is on the table?

 God I hope so. I think he would be the only Democrat that has a shot at winning. 

 

I certainly have a favorable view of Dr. Amy Acton. However, I am always suspect of people who want to run for office for the first time and go straight for the executive seat. I recognize she held a cabinet position in Ohio's executive branch, but I don't think that automatically qualifies someone for the governorship. 

It does probably mean a governor run, which may be his personal preference, but it's just not going to be impactful for Ohio.  We need a governor in office after the 2030 elections so that we can re-draw the maps to be competitive.  He'll get railroaded at every point if he wins a term from 2026-2030.  I guess you could argue he'll have an incumbency advantage in 2030 if he wins in 2026, but I don't know how much that matters, he's a known quantity.  If it is a Sherrod vs Vivek governor election, Sherrod will win easily in this environment. Vivek is so abrasive.

 

That also takes a competitive candidate out of the running for Senate in 2026 and 2028.  Given our complete lack of a bench, it's pretty much just him and Tim Ryan that would be viable Senate candidates. 

Edited March 20Mar 20 by 10albersa

1 hour ago, 10albersa said:

That also takes a competitive candidate out of the running for Senate in 2026 and 2028.  Given our complete lack of a bench, it's pretty much just him and Tim Ryan that would be viable Senate candidates. 

 

I know Ohio has been turning a progressively darker shade of red over the last few election cycles, but on the other side JD and Bernie were not part of the Republican bench. Bernie had run for office before, but neither had held elected office previously. I've expressed this before, but I do not think Tim Ryan is a strong Democratic candidate. It's possible there is a newcomer to the Democratic field that is able to be competitive statewide.

19 minutes ago, Luke_S said:

 It's possible there is a newcomer to the Democratic field that is able to be competitive statewide.

Who?

5 minutes ago, Foraker said:

Who?

Yes - the 3 C's just have to show up

I think it's just to be closer to grandchildren.

2 hours ago, Zagapi said:

 God I hope so. I think he would be the only Democrat that has a shot at winning. 

 

I certainly have a favorable view of Dr. Amy Acton. However, I am always suspect of people who want to run for office for the first time and go straight for the executive seat. I recognize she held a cabinet position in Ohio's executive branch, but I don't think that automatically qualifies someone for the governorship. 

 

The tone of Connie's FB doesn't suggest that he would go for anything as strenuous as governor.  But I could be wrong and there's definitely Republicans I'd vote for him against.   Hell, he'd be the first Democrat I voted for twice (in partisan contested elections).

 

That's not true about Acton, and I'm not the only one.  I doubt she'd even beat Whaley's numbers in a general election.    Too many voters see her as the epitome of the nanny state, and that's not an unfair assessment.

 

Tim Ryan could win, if he focused on economic issues and especially if he agreed to leave the gun laws alone.

 

Edited March 20Mar 20 by E Rocc

2 hours ago, 10albersa said:

If it is a Sherrod vs Vivek governor election, Sherrod will win easily in this environment. Vivek is so abrasive.

I'm not sure why you are so confident about that... Traditionally voters are more likely to cross part lines in governor elections than senate elections, and there are plenty of reasons to think that the 2026 midterm elections will be a favorable environment for Democrats, so Sherrod has a lot going for him. But he lost to Bernie Moreno last year, and while abrasive is probably a fair description, Vivek is coming in with a lot of name recognition, and I think he's clearly a stronger candidate that Bernie. Kalshi has the odds of a Republican winning the Ohio governorship at 74%, and I have to imagine the traders are pricing in the Republican frontrunner into their decisions. As a secondary check, I asked an AI, and it put the odds for a head to head matchup at 60-40 in Vivek's favor, I'd take that with a grain of salt, as I would the bettings odds, and polls, but I just don't see much reason to conclude Sherrod would win easily. Good chance, absolutely, favorite, maybe, but winning easily seems pretty unlikely to me.

15 hours ago, NW24HX said:

Democrat Sherrod Brown and author Connie Schultz move to Columbus area

 

Goodbye Cleveland, hello Columbus: former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and his wife, Connie Schultz, moved to a new house in the suburb of Bexley.

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/19/democrat-sherrod-brown-moved-from-cleveland-to-columbus/82551500007/

 

Aw man, going to miss pointing out his relatively modest subdivision to folks. My <former> senator lives there, in the city!

 

Also explains why Connie has been posting a lot more from Cbus, seems like some good restaurant recs can come of those posts haha.

1 hour ago, Foraker said:

Who?

 

My point is that someone that is relatively unknown or not thought of as a politician could run an win as a Democrat. I don't think in the spring of 2021 I would have predicted JD Vance would win Republican Senate nomination then go on to win in the general election. 

1 hour ago, Pablo said:

I think it's just to be closer to grandchildren.

And closer to Denison.

54 minutes ago, Luke_S said:

 

My point is that someone that is relatively unknown or not thought of as a politician could run an win as a Democrat. I don't think in the spring of 2021 I would have predicted JD Vance would win Republican Senate nomination then go on to win in the general election. 

I think there are a lot of Ohio Democrats who would like to see a new face step up to run, but I haven't seen any credible names -- sorry Dr. Acton.  But I'm not sure that a total unknown could win, nor would a member of the "old guard" in the party -- sorry Tim Ryan, Sherrod Brown.  What about a younger Dem legislator, frustrated with the inability to get anything done in the legislature?  Or a mid-to-big city mayor?  Justin Bibb?  I just don't know.

On 3/20/2025 at 12:23 PM, GISguy said:

 

Aw man, going to miss pointing out his relatively modest subdivision to folks. My <former> senator lives there, in the city!

 

Also explains why Connie has been posting a lot more from Cbus, seems like some good restaurant recs can come of those posts haha.

 

On 3/20/2025 at 12:23 PM, GISguy said:

 

Aw man, going to miss pointing out his relatively modest subdivision to folks. My <former> senator lives there, in the city!

 

Also explains why Connie has been posting a lot more from Cbus, seems like some good restaurant recs can come of those posts haha.

Not bad to go from modest subdivision to Bexley one of the wealthiest enclaves in Ohio.  Guess all of those public pensions plus Connie's help - or maybe they only needed to sell the DC condo to help pay.  He'll probably teach in some capacity at OSU John Glenn. Hopefully starting this week in their new home, as a gift to his beloved hometown, he will help lobby against the Statehouse R's and their push to control Northeast Ohio public policy via their risky tax dollar give-away to HSG BP.  He should have life-time courtesy access to the lobby the Ohio Statehouse given his past service, as in DC too.

Sherrod Brown, Weighing a 2026 Senate Bid, Starts a Workers’ Group

By Reid J. Epstein

March 24, 2025

 

Mr. Brown, the Ohio Democrat who lost his bid for a fourth Senate term last year, announced on Monday that he was forming a nonprofit group called the Dignity of Work Institute. The group, he said in an interview, will aim to illustrate the plight of workers in a country where both major parties have forgotten their concerns.

 

...

 

His new organization will function as a nonpartisan think tank, conducting research about American workers and aiming to illuminate challenges they face in an effort to persuade politicians and the public to pay attention to workers’ needs.

 

...

 

The famously frumpy Ohioan said he was weighing running for either Senate or governor in his home state next year. Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, is barred from seeking re-election by term limits, and Senator Jon Husted, a Republican whom Mr. DeWine appointed to fill the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance, will face voters for the chance to serve the remaining two years of Mr. Vance’s term.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/us/politics/sherrod-brown-2026-senate-ohio.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

14 minutes ago, Luke_S said:

The famously frumpy Ohioan said he was weighing running for either Senate or governor in his home state next year. Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, is barred from seeking re-election by term limits, and Senator Jon Husted, a Republican whom Mr. DeWine appointed to fill the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance, will face voters for the chance to serve the remaining two years of Mr. Vance’s term.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/us/politics/sherrod-brown-2026-senate-ohio.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

 

He can beat Vivek, and might beat Husted under the right circumstances.    I'd likely vote for him for governor and consider it for Senate, depending on how the national trends are playing out.   Ohio GOP is getting too complacent.

2 hours ago, E Rocc said:

 

He can beat Vivek, and might beat Husted under the right circumstances.    I'd likely vote for him for governor and consider it for Senate, depending on how the national trends are playing out.   Ohio GOP is getting too complacent.

I know a local mayor in Cleveland who's staunchly democrat who said she'd rather vote for Yost to Acton - she's met with Acton twice and is wildly discouraged. 

 

Having said that, I think Sherrod Brown would be a great alternative. 

 

Again, it all depends on if the 3 C's actually show up

1 hour ago, YABO713 said:

Again, it all depends on if the 3 C's actually show up

I'll second that Sherrod Brown would be a good alternative to Husted or Acton, but I wish there was someone younger who could energize the next generation of leaders.

Husted is solidly Gen X with his surfer accent.