WASHINGTON, D.C. — With their party’s virtual convention now complete, Democratic leaders in Ohio are hoping Joe Biden’s ‘nice guy’ appeal and campaign platform will be enough to draw voters away from President Trump.
“He’s one of the most empathetic people I know, contrasted with this president who is not. I’ll leave it at that,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said in a virtual interview this week.
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D, 11th Congressional District) made a similar argument.
“There’s so many things going on in this country, I think that once we talk about what Joe Biden would have done — what a Joe Biden presidency would look like — I think that people will start to say, you know what, maybe we need to give this guy a chance,” Fudge said in a virtual interview this week.
Each night of the Democratic National Convention showcased two strategies: 1) Party leaders condemning Trump and labeling him a threat to democracy; 2) Playing up Biden and running mate Kamala Harris as relatable hard workers filled with empathy who will keep their cool if given the chance to lead.
“Joe Biden embodies that. Kamala Harris embodies that,” Rep. Tim Ryan (D, 13th Congressional District) said in a virtual interview this week. “They’re calm, they’re thoughtful and they care about people. And I think compassion is going to be a big thing.”
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D, 3rd Congressional District) echoed him.
“This president has given Joe Biden so many things to talk about and to stand on that will make the American people know that we want change,” Beatty said in a virtual interview on Thursday. “We want to go forward, not backward.”
Every Ohio Democrat I spoke with this week said their party is more united than ever before, but they also talked a lot about Biden’s ability to connect with Republicans who may be fed up with Trump, like former Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
“There’s things I’m going to disagree with Biden on. There’s things I’m concerned about. But at the end of the day, I think he’s a man of faith,” Kasich (R) told CNN last week. “I think he’s a man — look, his history has been an ability to bring people together.
The Republican National Convention kicks off on Monday.
