Sherrod Brown Changes Mind

[Columbus]

www.OhioHonestElections.org has this intriguing item:

"Sherrod Brown has changed his campaign plans. Originally, on October 11, Brown stated "I will make a formal announcement with my family and supporters at a large public event later this month." Today Sherrod Brown declares he will not announce he is running for Senate until late November: "This has been an extraordinarily busy year to be a representative of Ohio in DC, perhaps the most invigorating of my thirteen years in Congress. Activists in Ohio and across the nation have joined together to combat the most insidious aspects of the Bush agenda:"

I have also noticed that the growohio site which was supposed to be a grassroots effort to promote reform and reorganization in Ohio is now advocating for Sherrod Brown for Senate.

Is growohio now a part of the Brown campaign? And what is going on in the Brown camp that has him switching announcement dates from late October to late November? Are his people not aware that Brown needs to be very consistent now in order to avoid the appearance of changing his mind too often?

Paul Hackett is announcing on October 24. Isn't Brown providing Hackett with a big advantage by changing his mind again and giving Hackett so much lead time?

One last item, Brown is now advertising on blogs to get support. Why can't he follow Hackett's courageous lead and post a diary entry so Ohioians can tell him what they think about his change of mind about running for Senate?

[Zynx]

1. I don't know what it is, but Brown doesn't seem like a winner.

I just can't envision him carrying the state. Can an Ohioan help me see why he would be a better statewide candidate than Hackett?

[Deep13]

3. once again....

I don't know why Sherrod had moved his announcement date. I suspect that the campaign rules are different for an announced candidate and an unanounced one.

For those that do not know him, Sherrod is tough as nails. He detests neocons. Sherrod has been fighting for regular people in public office for thirty years. He was once Ohio's secretary of the state and survived the 1994 purge largely because of his opposition to NAFTA. The League of Conservation Voters gives him a nearly perfect career score. Recently, he came within one vote of defeating CAFTA and it is only because of treacherous middle-of-the-night tactics that it passed at all. He is very well organized, well funded and instinctively understands how to campaign effectively in Ohio. Sen. DeWine is an entrenched politician with a good base among social conservatives and is well funded. He is slightly less slimey that Santorum and is known for underhanded campaign tactics. Sherrod will know how to handle that.

As a side note, Sherrod is married to liberal Plain Dealer columnist and Pulitzer Prize winned, Connie Shultz.

Hackett seems like a good man, but my concern is that he will not be in control of the public debate because Dewine will be defining the issues and wrapping the media around his finger. This is simply because of his lack of campaign experience and likely difficulty in raising cash. This year, his Congressional race was the only one in the country, so money was relatively easy to find. That will not be the case when Congress is up for grabs and the governorship is open. Sherrod already has over $2M.

My feeling is let Hackett try again for the 1st and leave the Senate to someone who can pose a serious threat to DeWine. Ohioans don't like loose cannons. They like seemingly nice, stabil candidates.

[OzarkDem]

4. He really is a great guy

He's always been a passionate, liberal, hard working, loyal Dem who also is a very kind, warm, funny, friendly person. Truly, he is - a very likeable guy and one of the few Dems left who has given R's hell in speeches from the House floor. You would definitely like living next door to him.

He's also an excellent campaigner and fundraiser and has always been very careful about choosing a race to enter. With a very liberal voting record, he's managed to get re-elected in a district that was gerrymandered over the years to be fairly conservative. That's due to his campaign skills, constituent services and ability to charm people who are adamantly opposed to his position on issues.

I do think he can win statewide, though the media will probably alternate ignoring him with attacking him. He has close ties to labor and they will turn out to help him.

IMHO he was asked to re-enter the race by party leaders (he's said as much). It doesn't strike me as something that was his own idea, but IMHO he's doing it out of loyalty to party leaders. He supported Hackett and he's not one to go back on his word.

[Gloria]

2. "invigorating" doesn't seem to be the right word to describe

being in DC if you're a Democratic rep.

[cmd]

5. Click on his ad and you will read this

We began the GrowOhio.org blog, and in August, our bloggers helped Paul Hackett come close to being elected in the 2nd district, one of Ohio’s most difficult to win for Democrats.
We have recruited and trained top-tier Democratic candidates to challenge Republicans, raised money for candidates, and are co-coordinating message among candidates at all levels.
Now I am ready, with your help, to take all of this to the next level.
Before the end of November, I will officially kick off my campaign for the United States Senate. We will immediately showcase the depth and breadth of support that my candidacy has already attracted. Together, we are going to challenge and defeat an incumbent Republican United States Senator next year in Ohio.
Thanks for your support, (Sherrod Brown)