CHICAGO – The leader of Democrats’ U.S. Senate campaign arm projected confidence Monday at a Politico event organized outside the Democratic National Convention, saying the party would sweep competitive races this cycle and retain control of the chamber with a win in the presidential race.
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told Politico’s Jonathan Martin that incumbents Jon Tester in Montana and Sherrod Brown in Ohio would overcome partisan disadvantages in their states to win reelection on the strength of their individual brands.
“Jon Tester is as authentic a person from Montana as you could possibly get,” Peters said. “He understands folks in Montana. He’s out in the community. Montana is a really big state geographically, but population-wise is smaller, and so he’s gotten to know a lot of folks in a more personal way that allows you to transcend some of that.”
Tester is being opposed by Republican Tim Sheehy, an entrepreneur and former Navy SEAL.
The same went for Brown in Ohio, Peters said.
“I’ve always said I don’t know if any Democrat can win Ohio, unless their name is Sherrod Brown,” he said. “Which is why I say, in this election, I have really good news for folks: I got a guy named Sherrod Brown who’s running in Ohio.”
Republican businessman Bernie Moreno is challenging Brown.
Democrats have no margin for error this Senate election cycle.
With the departure of Sen. Joe Manchin III, a West Virginia independent who was elected as a Democrat and is retiring rather than seeking reelection this fall, and no Republicans in seriously competitive states up for reelection, they must win the remaining competitive races. In addition, Vice President Kamala Harris must prevail in the presidential race to keep control of the chamber.
In addition to Tester’s and Brown’s races, Democratic incumbents are up for reelection in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nevada, while retirements have created open races in Michigan and Arizona. Winning all seven would give Senate Democrats a 50-50 tie that could be broken with the vote of a Democratic vice president.
The races in Michigan, Montana and Ohio are rated “toss-up” by The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. The other four are rated “lean Democrat,” meaning the Democratic candidate is slightly favored.
Peters said Harris should work to communicate with his state’s Arab American voters on the Israel-Hamas war.
The roughly 200,000 Arab American voters in Michigan make it unique among swing states.
Many of those voters opposed President Joe Biden’s aborted reelection race, and Peters said they should now listen to the new candidate at the top of the Democratic ticket.
“She is talking to a lot of folks who feel very frustrated that they’re not being listened to by folks — not just this administration but generally — about what’s happening in Gaza,” he said.
Peters said Harris has communicated that Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas, “a horrible terrorist organization that has engaged in unspeakable atrocities,” but has also been sensitive to the “innocent folks caught in the middle.”
He said a cease-fire in the Middle East was needed.
Asked directly if Harris would differentiate her policy views from Biden’s, Peter said she would.
To win Michigan, Peters said it was important to authentically communicate her own message on that issue.
“It shows that she’s her own person, she thinks her own way,” he said.
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