Because Ohio has become far redder since he was first elected in 2006, three-term Senator Sherrod Brown (D), who has voted with President Biden 98% of the time, is one of three Democrats considered most vulnerable in 2024.
Tom Zawistowski, president of the tea party-affiliated We the People Convention, says it is all about name recognition.
"The odds of beating an incumbent senator in a statewide race go up by like 95% if the challenger has already won a statewide race," he tells AFN. "The problem is name recognition."
Unfortunately, he says, the two declared GOP candidates do not have that.
"You've got Bernie Moreno, who's got lots of money and has kind of a pseudo Trump endorsement, but not really," Zawistowski reports. "He ran last time and dropped out, but he's got a name ID of like 9%. We've got Matt Dolan, who's from a famous Ohio family. He's been a state senator, and he ran last year. He still only has like 15% name recognition."
He goes on to make note of another potential candidate who has held statewide office and is considering entering the GOP primary.
"You have Frank LaRose, who's our secretary of state, who has won state races twice, who will probably have the least money, but he has name recognition of like 85%," the tea party activist relays.
"The odds are that the only person who could beat Sherrod Brown is Frank LaRose," Zawistowski concludes.
