Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown plans to announce 2024 reelection bid

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said Tuesday that he plans to announce a reelection bid for 2024.

The senator confirmed his plans to Cleveland.com but declined to elaborate further.

“There is a longer answer, but that’s my point,” Brown said, according to Cleveland.com. “I haven’t formally announced, but I plan to.”

Democratic strategists in recent months have pointed to Brown as a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2024 if President Biden does not seek another term. The president will turn 80 in November, and questions have swirled about his fitness to lead after a succession of harsh policy losses and soaring inflation.

However, Biden’s approval rating has ticked up in recent weeks following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and a decrease in gas prices, among other things.

Brown briefly considered entering the race for president in 2020 but ultimately decided against it.

The Democratic senator has held his seat in Ohio since 2006.

Democrats face tough odds in Ohio in the 2022 midterms. The state has leaned red in recent years and went for former President Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan (Ohio) and Republican candidate J.D. Vance are currently locked in a tight race for the state’s other Senate seat, according to recent polls.