Montana Sen. Jon Tester, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, and Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen decided to skip the DNC in Chicago and campaign in their home states.
The Democrats only have a 51-49 majority in the Senate.
I’ve said the line that separates the legislature and executive branch has been blurred for decades, more so recently.
The legislative branch has been important since bills started there. The latest analysis from Cook Political Report shows Democrats have a slight edge in keeping the Senate.
Tester has the most brutal campaign. The race between Tester and GOP challenger Tim Sheehy is a tossup.
Tester hasn’t endorsed Kamala Harris, who will formally accept the presidential nomination on Thursday.
Instead of the DNC, Tester will attend a fundraiser with Pearl Jam. Bassist Jeff Ament hails from Missoula, Montana:
“Rock on Jon” is a Missoula fundraiser for U.S. Sen Jon Tester on Aug. 21, the day before Pearl Jam’s Aug. 22 concert at the University of Montana’s Washington-Grizzly Stadium, part of the band’s Dark Matter world tour. An Aug. 21 reception with Tester and Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament is part of the package for “Big Sky Rocker” and “Super Fan” donors paying $400 or more. The Aug. 22 concert isn’t a fundraising event for Tester.The Tester event overlaps with the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which kicks off Aug. 19. Tester won’t be attending the convention.“Jon Tester plans to spend his August farming and meeting face to face with Montanans,” campaign press secretary Harry Child told Capitolized.
Tester is the most vulnerable Democrat senator. Montana is a red state, except for him.
In Montana, Trump beat Biden in 2020 by 56.9% to 40.5%, and he beat Hillary in 2016 by 56.2% to 35.7%.
Rosen has endorsed Harris for president but wants to concentrate on her campaign.
Nevada is back to Lean Democrat:
The surge has been particularly large in Nevada, which had been one of Biden’s worst states. Though former President Donald Trump still leads by three points against Harris, Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen is currently leading Republican Army veteran Sam Brown by 18 points, 54%-36%. She is running nine points ahead of Harris in a state that hosted the closest Senate race in 2022, while Brown is notably running behind Trump by 12 points.
Rosen has spent $16 million on ads. Brown? Only $1.4 million.
The ads might have worked in Nevada, but what about Ohio?
Sherrod Brown’s race is also a toss-up. A poll from August 7 showed Brown up only 46% to 42% against challenger Bernie Moreno.
The Cook Political Report has “heard frustrations about Moreno’s slower start from some national and Ohio Republicans.” Brown has spent $33 million on ads, so most of the airwaves belong to him.
Despite that, Brown hasn’t gone over 50% and barely leads Moreno.
Ohio is no longer a swing state, lately swinging towards Republicans. That could explain why he endorsed Harris, even though he hasn’t campaigned with her or defended her “work” on the border.
Spokesperson Eliza Green told USA Today that Brown always planned on staying in Ohio during August, targeting Chillicothe, Cleveland, Sandusky, Toledo, and Youngstown.
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