Blowing off the Windy City: Some Democrats give Kamala and the DNC a cold shoulder

For Senate Democrats running for reelection, Chicago is do not have A town like theirs.

Prominent Democrats from battleground states, including Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jon Tester of Montana and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, gave the big-shot city the cold shoulder as their party holds its Democratic convention in Chicago.

“Each candidate will decide for themselves where they want to be, and of course some candidates want to be in their own state and speak to their voters,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who chairs the Senatorial Campaign Committee and manages Democrats’ Senate campaigns.

Democrats are looking to maintain a slim majority in the Senate this fall. Currently, there are 51 senators who confer with the Democrats and 49 with the Republicans. The Senate battleground favors the Republicans, with many Democrats up for reelection in Republican-leaning and swing states. Democrats will have a tough road to defeat rising Republicans in their districts, such as Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Sen. Joe Manchin (I-Va.) is retiring, a seat destined to flip to the Republicans. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) is also retiring. The race between Democratic candidate Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the Republican standard-bearer, is a close one.

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That has led Democrats to shun Harris and distance themselves from progressive voices at their convention, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

You’d rather leave the Windy City than campaign locally and not have to face tough questions from the national press. Or if you’re a moderate, you’ll be photographed with someone too far to the left. Or you’ll make a controversial remark about the Middle East war. Or you’ll be asked what you think about Biden’s withdrawal, Harris’ comments, and Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota governor Tim Walz’s military service.

Jon Tester left Chicago for Pearl Jam.

The band’s bassist, Montana native Jeff Ament, will headline a fundraiser for Testers in Missoula in the middle of the tournament.

If Tester wins, it would be his fourth term in the Senate, and as Pearl Jam sings, it could be “the comeback.”

Democratic leaders praised their colleagues for not going to Chicago.

“I think it’s going to be an advantage for John,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill. “John is running as a Montana Democrat, not as a national Democrat.”

Rosen has distanced himself from Chicago and is seeking a second term in the battleground state of Nevada. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) narrowly won her 2022 reelection by less than 8,000 votes. Cortez Masto’s election results were the last to be confirmed. Her victory maintained the Democratic majority in the Senate. President Biden defeated former President Trump in Nevada in 2020 by less than 35,000 votes. Although Rosen has distanced himself from Chicago and Harris, the senator’s allies believe that a Vice Presidential win in Nevada would give Rosen an advantage. The Senate race is currently tilting slightly in Rosen’s favor. The Cook Political Report changed it from a “close race” to a “Democratic advantage.”

Vice President Harris has not yet launched a policy website, but the Trump campaign has done so instead.

But some Democrats running in battleground states in November’s election are avoiding Chicago.

Also attending will be Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is running against Republican candidate Kali Lake for the U.S. Senate, and retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, R-Ariz., who caucuses with the Democratic Party.

And two incumbent Democratic senators are running from competitive states: Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, along with a Democrat from Chicago.

St. Louis’ other senator, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), isn’t running for office this fall, but he skipped the convention because he has other commitments. Fetterman has been battling with the left over his positions on immigration, the border and the Middle East.

(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

But Democrats absentee this year aren’t the only ones skipping their respective party conventions.

In 2012, when Democrats held their convention in Charlotte, former Sen. Claire McCaskill faced a tough reelection fight. Tester and Manchin also faced tough reelection fights that year, as did then-Rep. Nick Rahall (D-West Virginia). All skipped the convention, and all won their elections. It’s hard to argue with that strategy.

Many Republicans were unimpressed with former President Trump, which led them to avoid the Republican convention in Cleveland in 2016 and in 2020, when it was canceled because of the pandemic.

Former Senators Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania) sat out the 2016 election.

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Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) sat out the 2020 election.

In some cases, prominent politicians will speak at opposition party conferences.

The late Senator Zell Miller (D-Ga.) spoke at the Republican Convention in New York, re-nominating President George W. Bush for a second term, running against Democratic candidate Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.).

Former Republican Ohio Governor and Congressman John Kasich spoke at the Democratic Party’s semi-convention (due to COVID) in 2020. This is particularly interesting because Kasich ran for president as a Republican in 2016.

The late Senator Joe Lieberman (Independent, Connecticut) entered the Senate as a full-fledged Democrat in early 1989. However, after losing the 2006 primary but winning reelection, Lieberman declared himself an “Independent Democrat.” Nevertheless, Lieberman joined the party’s caucus at the end of his term. In 2000, he was Al Gore’s running mate. However, at the Republican convention in St. Paul, he spoke on behalf of the 2008 Republican candidate, the late Senator John McCain (R-Arizona). This move almost led Democrats to expel Lieberman from the Senate Democratic Caucus, especially with the election of President Barack Obama, who was then Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois).

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Tracking the political classification of former Congressman Charlie Crist (D-FL) is almost as complicated as Lieberman’s. Crist was elected Governor of Florida in 2006 as a Republican. He then lost to Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio (R-FL) in 2010. However, Crist ran for Senate as an independent that year, which Rubio won. Crist then spoke at the Democratic Convention in Charlotte in 2012. Crist joined the Democratic Party later that year. He ran for Governor as a Democrat and lost in 2014. Crist then ran for House of Representatives as a Democrat and won in 2016. He then ran for Governor again as a Democrat in 2022. However, Crist lost to Republican Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida.

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Michael Bloomberg has been a lifelong Democrat, but ran for Mayor of New York City as a Republican in 2001. As Mayor, Bloomberg won the 2004 New York Republican Convention after 9/11. However, Bloomberg spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. And in 2020, he ran for president as a Democrat, losing to President Biden.

In another era, Democrats who attended the convention might send postcards to people back home saying, “I wish you were here.” But if Democrats really want to keep the Senate, Brown, Tester, and Rosen aren’t going to get “I wish you were here” postcards, because frankly, their best chance of keeping the Senate is to keep these senators as far away from Chicago as possible.