CHICAGO, Illinois. – The chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee says the party’s national nominating convention helps choose candidates in the fight for the Senate majority “because it’s about enthusiasm and mobilizing voters.”
But Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, who is heading the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the second consecutive term, told Fox News Digital that it was understandable that three Democratic incumbents facing a particularly difficult re-election this year would skip the convention to stay in their states.
“Every candidate is going to make their own decision about where they need to be, and certainly some candidates would prefer to just stay in their state and talk to voters in their state,” Peters said.
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The stage at the United Center is set for the Democratic National Convention on Monday, August 18, 2024, in Chicago. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Democrats currently control the Senate by a margin of 51 to 49, but are defending 23 of the 34 seats up for election this fall.
One of those seats is in West Virginia, a deep-red state that former President Trump won by nearly 40 percentage points in 2020. With moderate Democrat and now independent Senator Joe Manchin, a former governor, not running for re-election, a Republican victory in that seat is all but certain.
Republicans also want to win seats in Ohio and Montana, two states that Trump won comfortably four years ago. And five other seats that will be held by Democrats this year are in crucial swing states that will play a decisive role in the presidential election.
Incumbent Democratic Senators Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jon Tester of Montana and Jacky Rosen of Nevada will not attend the convention.
However, Peters stressed: “They are all very experienced candidates and incumbents. They know what is best and they do what they believe is best for them and their state.”
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The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the DSCC’s rival, argued that Brown, Rosen and Tester could not avoid their Senate races by their absence from the convention.
Mike Berg, communications director for the NRSC, told Fox News that all three senators “voted with Kamala Harris 100% of the time in tie votes, which she cast as vice president. So it doesn’t matter whether they attend the convention or not, they have the result.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz greets Vice President Kamala Harris as she takes the stage during a campaign rally at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Saturday, August 10, 2024. (LE Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The Democratic National Convention began on Monday, four weeks and one day after President Biden’s groundbreaking announcement that he would withdraw his candidacy for re-election in 2024 and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor at the top of the ballot.
Harris and the Democrats have since enjoyed strong momentum in both opinion polls and fundraising.
“What happens at the top of the ballot will have a major impact on the race for the Senate seat,” Peters said.
“Our candidates in all of our swing states have consistently outperformed their Republican opponents, largely because of their quality. They are running against Republican candidates with serious weaknesses.”
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Peters boasted, “We had good, strong polling numbers to begin with. But now, after the change, we’ve seen the polling numbers actually go up, and that’s largely because of the enthusiasm that we’re seeing. More and more people are excited about voting, are participating in the process, and we’re confident that we’re going to be very successful on Election Day, given the contrast between our Democratic incumbent or candidate and the Republicans, who have their weaknesses.”
Senator Gary Peters, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, is interviewed by Fox News Digital at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
And Peters is convinced that the enthusiasm emanating from this week’s party conference, combined with what he called a “strong ground campaign”, is the way to “win and keep the majority”.
Peters led the DSCC in the last legislative session when Democrats also faced unfavorable map-sharing and defied expectations by retaining the majority. However, he should not be expected to remain in office for a third consecutive term, as he himself faces re-election in 2026.
“It would certainly be unprecedented if a DSCC chairman were also on the ballot, given that as DSCC chairman I help all candidates running for election,” he said.
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