Former President Donald Trump announced this week that he wanted Republicans to focus on two crucial Senate seats in this year’s election. The move came as the seats in Montana and Ohio could affect the balance of power in Congress.
Trump said that he wanted Republicans to take the seats currently held by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT). Both seats are in states that Trump won twice and were previous targets of the former president.
Trump told senators at a meeting that the two senators “opposed everything I did while I was president, and now they are talking like Republicans.”
Republicans nominated Bernie Moreno to run against Brown. Moreno is a top supporter of the former president. Trump-endorsed Tim Sheehy is seeking to unseat Tester.
Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno: “President Trump’s a good man. This is a man that could’ve given up on this country a long time ago, who has taken more abuse than any other human would’ve ever take… he wakes up every day and fights for us” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4Cv6Qf7nVQ
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) March 15, 2024
Tester claimed that he was against some policies of the Biden administration.
The group Montanans for Tester said that “Tester does what’s right for Montana. That’s why when President Trump was in office, he signed more than 20 of Jon Tester’s bills into law to help veterans, crack down on government waste and abuse, and support our first responders.”
In 2018 Trump made a major effort to oust Tester from his seat, citing his support for Obamacare, as well as other causes. However, Tester was able to hang on to his seat against future Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT).
Rosendale made another effort for the seat in this election cycle, but Trump advised him to run for another office. Tester carried the election by less than 4%.
Brown was able to keep his seat by a slightly larger margin, winning by 7% against then-Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH). Brown originally won his seat against former Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH), who is currently serving as the state’s governor.
Brown originally won his seat in 2006 against former Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH), who is currently serving as the state’s governor.
The two incumbents appear to be at risk, especially as political coalitions have changed over the last two decades. Both candidates enjoyed some support among working-class voters, who have heavily moved toward Republicans since.
Trump’s candidates for Senate won a series of primaries in recent months, including earlier this month in Nevada.
