Strategists consider effect of Sherrod Brown's call for Biden to exit

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Party strategists discussed Biden's campaign after Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown joined a growing list of prominent Democrats calling on President Joe Biden to step aside.

Amid growing concerns about the president’s age and fitness for office, Brown said he came to the decision after talking with voters across the state over the last few weeks. He said Ohioans are concerned about issues like the fentanyl crisis, the economy, protecting social security and Medicare, and preventing a national abortion ban. 

NBC4 spoke with a Republican and Democratic strategist to get their reaction to this news. The presidential debate occurred three weeks ago, leaving questions around Brown's timing.

“The polls have been showing and have been showing more and more that you've got a large number of people in the country, a large majority of the country now who don't feel that Joe Biden is up to being president for another four years. And I would subscribe to that,” Democratic strategist Dale Butland said. 

“Sherrod Brown thinks he's going to lose," Matt Dole, the Republican strategist, said. "Joe Biden is on a trajectory to lose the presidency, and he's going to take the Senate down with him and he's going to build a strong, larger majority in the House for Republicans. So he's so this is a politically expedient decision by Sherrod Brown."

Butland said President Biden’s situation is dire, which is why he said it’s important the Democratic Party choose a new candidate, especially because Senator Brown already has a tough road ahead of him. 

“If Donald Trump carries Ohio by anywhere close to the eight points that he carried this state by in the last two elections, that means Sherrod is going to have to swim upstream. He's going to have to get voters to split their tickets,” said Butland. 

Meanwhile Dole said Biden is uniting the country because the majority of voters now agree that he is no longer fit to be president. 

“What's scary is politicians like Sherrod Brown are calling for him to not run for president when they should be calling for him to resign as president. If he cannot run for president, he should not have his finger on the button,” Dole said. 

As voters gear up to head to the polls, Dole said Brown made this announcement Friday because he’s worried about what will happen at the top of the ticket should Biden step down. He added that if the polls after the debate showed that Biden was still a strong candidate, this wouldn’t be a conversation.

“The Democrats are not having the conversation about Joe Biden's obvious cognitive decline, which is the only thing we should be discussing as it relates to Joe Biden in the presidential race," Dole said. "They're discussing, 'Can he win, and is he going to pull me and the U.S. Senate down with him?' That is the only calculation."

Butland said after listening to former President Trump’s speech last night at the Republican National Convention, Biden may not be the only one who’s showing some signs of age. He said there’s a chance the entire race would turn into chaos if a party has to find a replacement. 

“If you replace someone at the top of the ticket, look, it is fraught with risk on the part of the Democrats. This is a situation that is without historical parallel," Butland said. "Never in American history has an incumbent president stepped down this late in the process. So you don't know exactly what's going to happen."

It is unclear if Brown calling on Biden to step aside could influence the president at all. Butland and Dole both said there’s only one person who can make that decision.

“I do believe that there is enormous pressure mounted on Biden that will cause him to leave," Butland said. "Not just Sherrod Brown, but polls are showing now that you have two-thirds of Democrats that want him to exit the race."

“He thinks he's had the most successful presidency, certainly in generations. And it will be very interesting to see, even with this pressure," Dole said. "Joe Biden holds the delegates, holds the process. And I'm not positive this gets him to step down, even with all the pressure from the senators.”