Can this Ohio Democrat win back working class votes?
asserted
Democrat → win → votes
AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" blared from ballroom speakers.
asserted
Thunderstruck → blare → speakers
Union stalwarts representing steelworkers, utility workers, construction workers and others greeted the 73-year-old Democrat with resounding cheers and endless handshakes.
asserted
stalwarts → represent → cheers
This was the biennial gathering of the Ohio AFL-CIO, a crowd Brown has kept at the forefront of his agenda throughout his 50 years in public office, including 32 years in the U.S. Congress.
asserted
Brown → keep → Congress
And these are the people Brown is counting on to send him back to Washington after suffering defeat at the polls two years ago.
asserted
Brown → count → polls
"I want you to talk to people, because people will listen to you," he implored.
asserted
he → want → you
"I want you to share information — how I spent my whole career fighting for workers.
asserted
I → want → workers
"
If you're a pipefitter, he told the room, other pipefitters will listen to you, as will your friends at church and school and in your neighborhood.
asserted
friends → tell → neighborhood
"Tell them how important this election is, and how important it is that they get out and vote," he said.
asserted
he → tell → them
A pivotal race
Brown's appeal to labor unions comes two years after the three-term U.S. senator was unseated by GOP businessman Bernie Moreno, losing in a year when President Trump won the most votes of any presidential candidate in Ohio history.
asserted
Trump → come → history
Now, Brown is hoping to regain a U.S. Senate seat by defeating incumbent Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed to fill JD Vance's seat early last year.
asserted
who → hop → seat
The race remains a toss-up, one that could determine control of the Senate for Trump's final two years in office.
uncertain
that → remain → office
With early voting set to begin Oct. 6, union members are knocking on doors, phone banking and showing up at rallies for Brown.
asserted
members → set → Brown
They're hoping to drum up enough support to overcome a shift that took hold in Ohio in 2016, when Trump ran on a promise to revitalize factories and put people back to work.
asserted
Trump → hop → work
That year, Trump won 54% of union households in the state, while Hillary Clinton won just 41%.
asserted
Clinton → win → %
"Back when Hillary was running, so many people just — they wanted change," says Dave Janiszewski, a Democrat who split his working years between a steel plant and a paper plant before retiring nine years ago.
asserted
who → run → plant
Now, donning a navy and gold United Steelworkers Political Action Committee jacket, Janiszewski is spending his days canvassing middle class neighborhoods around Columbus, doing exactly what Brown called for: knocking on the doors of union households, trying to persuade voters who aren't sure about Brown, or about voting in the midterms at all, that he's their guy.
asserted
he → don → midterms
"I've personally met him, know him — I've been around him since 2012," Janiszewski tells one young man who comes to the door.
asserted
who → meet → door
A Democrat in an increasingly red state
Initially, Brown withstood Ohio's electoral shift to the right, winning re-election to a third Senate term in 2018, two years after Trump was first elected president.
asserted
Trump → withstand → 2018
Aside from judges, Brown was the only Democrat still winning statewide races in Ohio.
asserted
Brown → win → Ohio
Janiszewski says Ohio workers were clear on what Brown stood for.
asserted
Brown → say → what
People knew him as the guy who vehemently opposed NAFTA, who showed up on picket lines, who only wore suits made in Ohio.
asserted
who → know → Ohio
In 2021, Brown pushed through legislation that saved the pensions of millions of union workers from insolvency.
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that → push → insolvency
It was called the Butch Lewis Act, named after an Ohio truck driver who died while working to protect retiree benefits.
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who → call → benefits
"Anything that we needed, he was there for us," says Janiszewski.
asserted
Janiszewski → need → us
Still, by 2024, conditions proved insurmountable.
asserted
conditions → prove → 2024
At the top of the ticket, Trump defeated then-Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 11 percentage points.
asserted
Trump → defeat → points
Brown lost to Moreno by less than 4 percentage points.
asserted
Brown → lose → points
Dorsey Hager, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, says those numbers are telling.
asserted
numbers → say → Council
"It's no secret that President Trump won the state in '16, '20, and '24.
asserted
Trump → win → 20
A lot of that was due unfortunately to our members voting and supporting him and supporting some downballot Republicans, too," says Hager, noting that the council has supported Republicans in the past but has endorsed Brown this fall.
asserted
council → vote → Brown
Hager is hopeful many of his members will follow that endorsement.
asserted
many → follow → endorsement
Even though jobs are plentiful, he says many construction workers have told him they're suffering from high gas and diesel prices, high food prices and overall inflation.
asserted
they → say → prices
"They're feeling it very hard," he says.
asserted
he → feel → it
A split among labor
It's often said that union voters are not a monolith, and that's ever apparent in the U.S. Senate race in Ohio this fall.
asserted
that → say → Ohio
While most labor organizations have endorsed Brown, the building trades councils in Cleveland and Toledo have endorsed Husted, calling him a "friend and advocate" for construction workers.
asserted
councils → endorse → workers
The Boilermakers union is also backing Husted, citing his support for union jobs in power plants, refineries and shipbuilding.
asserted
union → back → plants
On the campaign trail, Brown is trying to counter those narratives, arguing that Husted is only looking out for Wall Street, drug companies, and the tech companies now building data centers across Ohio, thanks to massive tax breaks Husted championed as lieutenant governor.
asserted
Husted → try → governor
But in Lake County, one of eight Ohio counties that abandoned Brown in the last election, Republican commissioner John Plecnik is confident union members will choose Husted this fall if only because Husted supports Trump.
asserted
Husted → abandon → Trump
They know that the borders were wide open during President Biden's term, and it was hurting labor.
asserted
it → know → labor
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
