Why Sherrod Brown Should Replace JD Vance as Senator| Letter

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Letters to the Editor
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DeWine, Democrats should look to Sherrod Brown

Gov. Mike DeWine could do something bipartisan and magnanimous to the more than 2.5 million Ohioans who voted for Sherrod Brown by naming him interim senator in JD Vance’s open seat — but that seems unlikely.

In any case, Democrats will have no hope of filling that seat in a subsequent special election unless they take a hard look at why Sherrod Brown lost this time and listen to what the people of Ohio are looking for.

This is the same reason John Russell never had a chance in the 2018 special election to fill Pat Tiberi’s open house seat.

Democrats used the primary to anoint a party insider with no message and no charisma at the expense of putting forward a young grassroots organizer who knows how to talk to voters and, more importantly, how to listen.

In fact, John Russell is still doing just that More perfect uniona nonprofit media outlet that produced an Emmy-nominated documentary about the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine.

I still think John Russell, or someone like him, is the answer to changing Ohio politics.

Unfortunately, we lost him to West Virginia, but if we can get him back, maybe there is hope for a new progressive populism that can answer the completion of the red wave in Ohio.

Christopher Ayoub, Columbus

This story was updated to add a video.