Sen. Sherrod Brown sums up how he won Ohio back without compromising his progressive values – By Marissa Higgins (Daily Kos) / Nov 28 2019
One of the biggest questions when it comes to state politics in the age of Donald Trump (and, ideally, in every age) is: How do progressives not only win states but also keep them? How do we win the trust of the voter base? What about a demographic that Trump won? How do we appeal to people who suddenly seem very far to the other side of the political aisle? Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio who has served three terms, has some succinct advice for anyone who is worried about whether or not a certain voter demographics will go blue.
“I did it by talking to workers of all stripes,” he told Daily Kos at Netroots Nation, the country’s largest conference for progressives, this past summer. “Whether you punch a clock or swipe a badge, whether you work for tips or work for a salary, whether you’re raising kids … talk to workers about workplace safety, about wages, about retirement, about childcare.”
Why? According to Brown, these topics are the issues families care about. He noted that people “will vote for progressives if you have a progressive message.”
In Ohio specifically, Brown asserts that he won without “compromising on gun safety or choice or marriage equality or civil rights,” and credits his success to his focus on those topics. Workers’ rights, family issues, and retirement are all things that most people worry about, so, for Brown, it comes down to meeting people where they are and focusing on what unifies voters.
To hear more from Sen. Brown on voters, net neutrality, and breaking up Big Tech, check out our Making Progress video interview and transcript below.
Continue to article: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/28/1900498/-Sen-Sherrod-Brown-sums-up-how-he-won-Ohio-back-without-compromising-his-progressive-values
