Two Democratic senators are up for re-election in states won by former President Trump in the last election, but have yet to commit to campaigning alongside Vice President Harris, the Democratic front-runner.
After President Biden dropped out of the race in late July, Harris became a leading contender for the presidency in 2024. While most Democrats have backed Harris, Democrats in overwhelmingly Republican states have appeared reluctant to add to the new slate of candidates.
Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who is running in one of Democrats’ toughest Senate races in 2024, declined to say whether he would campaign with Harris.
“I have my own schedule,” Brown told CNN when asked about campaigning with front-runner Harris. “She has her schedule. I’m focused on my campaign. My strategy is probably different than hers.”
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Senator Sherrod Brown (Democrat, Ohio) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call)
“My job is to fight for the working people of Ohio. I don’t care if you talk about the presidential race, that’s your job. What matters is that I know people will vote for me because I stand up for working people and I will continue to fight for working people.”
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Brown also suggested he might not attend the next Democratic National Convention, where Harris is expected to become the party’s official nominee.
“I often miss conventions,” Brown told the outlet.
Senator Jon Tester (Drew Ungerer)
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mo.) allegedly directly involved He said he was similarly focused on the Montana race when he recruited Harris for the Senate seat in 2015 as then-chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
“We are currently working on my campaign. I am completely focused on that. Believe it or not, I am, and we are going to win,” Tester told the Washington Examiner. “As for the presidential election, I will address it when I have time. I am also working on a defense bill, which is very important.”
Tester said he has not yet endorsed Harris for the Democratic nomination, but supports an open nomination process to select a new candidate.
Vice President Harris speaks at a campaign event at Westover High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina on July 18, 2024. (Alison Joyce)
Asked whether Harris would have an impact on the Montana Senate race, Tester said, “We’re running our own campaign. I’m developing my own enthusiasm.”
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), who is also running to defend her seat, did not respond to a question from Fox News Digital about whether she would campaign alongside Harris in the upcoming election.
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“Jon Tester and Sherrod Brown have both voted 100% for Kamala Harris, so whether they want to campaign with her or not, Harris’ record is theirs,” Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Maggie Abboud said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “A vote for Harris, Brown or Tester is the same as voting to decriminalize border crossing, defund the police and ban fracking.”
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
