Democrats are saying they want to have their red state “battle-tested” lawmakers, Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), run for reelection in the 2024 campaign cycle.
Democrats, ahead of a 2024 cycle with a rough map for their party, would prefer to have Tester and Manchin run again, as they have already won in their states, which have gotten redder over the years.
If the Democrats choose to run again, it would be less work for the party than having to help a candidate win for the first time. Ultimately, if they decide to run again or move over for someone else to run, it would determine where their party would spend the bulk of their resources.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who is chairing the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for the second time, and other senators have been pushing the Democrats to run again, according to Politico.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) told the publication that he “think[s] both can win” because “they are the best candidates we have in their states” but are both in “challenging circumstances.”
Additionally, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), who has spoken to Tester, claimed that he has a “nine-hour trip” from waking up in the morning and getting to Washington, DC, in time for votes on Monday, but that he “wants to” run again. Brown added that the commute seems to his “biggest problem,” and that “He’s not getting younger, I don’t think. And he’s really good at his job. He’s confident he’ll win, again, as I am … But I also know that it’s just harder.”
Furthermore, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) claims that their chances of winning reelection would depend on who the Republicans nominate for president and how well President Joe Biden is doing at the time. “I’m not ruling out the ability to win an open seat, but clearly, we’re in a stronger position with the incumbent running,” he added.
On top of that, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told Politico that he had mentioned to both lawmakers that he “loved serving with them,” but when he brought up running again in 2024, he “didn’t pick up any particular hints one way or the other” on what they would both do.
Manchin told Politico that he hasn’t decided on whether he would run yet and noted that his party would “love” for him to run but that they also “understand I’ve been doing this for a while, and I’m going to make a decision on my own time.” On the other hand, Sarah Feldman, a Tester spokesperson, said that the senator was “having conversations with his family, as this will be a decision they make together.”
A DSCC spokesperson, Nora Keefe, told Politico that the two senators are “battle-tested” and are “repeatedly winning challenging elections.”
Currently, DSCC will have to try to keep, if not expand, the 51-seat majority. That includes potentially spending millions on protecting Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who recently changed her party to become an independent after the last election cycle — in addition to some Democrat senators running in states that have turned redder over the years and open seats left by retiring members.
In 2024, 23 of the 33 Senate seats up for reelection are currently held by Democrats or left-leaning independents. Former President Donald Trump won six of these states by double digits in at least one of his presidential elections.
The New York Times previously acknowledged that some of the most challenging seats for the Democrats to keep would be Tester’s Montana seat, Manchin’s West Virginia seat, and Brown’s Ohio seat. Trump won those states by 16, 8, and 29 percent in 2020.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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