The Democrat’s successful bid for a third term in the U.S. Senate grabbed the attention of party elite and political pundits — he beat former U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci by more than 6 percentage points in a vital swing state Republican President Donald Trump carried by nearly 10 points in 2016. Days after the Nov. 6 election, he increased his national profile by saying he’s considering a 2020 run for the White House.
Roots: The Mansfield native credits his view of power to his mother. “My mom is a Southerner, always taught me about racial justice,” he says. “And that really has motivated me, really through my career, of both challenging power and challenging power when it was doing wrong and fighting for people that didn’t have a voice.”
Fighting for CLE: Brown is encouraging heads of hospital systems to raise their minimum wages to $15 an hour, a move Cleveland Clinic recently made, according to his press office. He’s also working to help provide more food to the community. “Cleveland is one of the leading urban-agriculture states in the country,” he adds. “I got provisions in the [recently passed] farm bill, which will help Cleveland neighborhoods that want to start small garden-farms that can feed a lot of people in the neighborhood.”
“I Have a Dream.” Or Not: The senator insists he never seriously thought about running for president until this last election night. “A lot of people came to me and said, ‘You’re in the best position to beat Donald Trump and to change the direction of the country,’” he says. “That’s pretty heady — and pretty
intimidating.”
Not Just Talk: Just being in the conversation of possible 2020 presidential candidates has given Brown more power to advance his causes. “People are more likely to cover a speech or do an interview and talk about the issues that I think matter for people’s lives,” he observes.
If He Won: Brown says he would use the power of the presidency to advocate for working people and consumers, respect the U.S. intelligence community and the country’s democratic allies, and bring dignity to the Oval Office.
Image isn’t Everything: Brown downplays the importance of his famously rumpled image. “I don’t put a lot of time into how I look,” he says. “Maybe that’s attractive to some people. I don’t know. But I think why people vote for me is because of who I fight for — and what I fight against.”
Key to Compromise: “It’s more how you
listen than what you say.”