9 Vulnerable Democrats Are Skipping The DNC This Year

At least nine Democrats locked in contentious re-election campaigns have said they won’t attend the Democratic National Convention, citing various reasons.

Four Democrat senators and five members of congress won’t be attending the party’s convention in Chicago, Illinois, in a move The Hill suggests is a way to distance themselves from Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the de facto Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden announced he would no longer run for re-election.

Here are the Democrats we know won’t be attending the DNC.

Sen. Sherrod Brown

Three-term Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio may currently lead his Republican challenger, but former President Donald Trump won the state by large margins in 2016 and 2020.

Trump won Ohio in 2016 and 2020 by 8.1 percentage points, a larger margin than former presidents Bush or Obama won in the Buckeye state.

Brown currently has a 5-point lead on his Republican challenger Bernie Moreno, according to RealClearPolitics, but there’s still more than two months until the election.

Brown told CNN that he “often” skips conventions or attends for “maybe a day,” but records show that he has attended each convention since he was elected to the Senate, the Hill reported.

Brown has endorsed Harris.

Sen. Martin Heinrich

Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico is in a more comfortable position that many of the other Democrats on this list, since the state is rated likely Democratic and has voted Democrat in every presidential election since 2008. But Republicans are targeting the state.

Heinrich quickly endorsed Harris after Democrats decided she would be their nominee instead of Biden and has also praised Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate.

Heinrech’s campaign told Scripps News that he “has other commitments during the time of the convention.”

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Sen. Jacky Rosen

Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada has a comfortable lead in a race expected to be pretty close come election day. Rosen faces Republican challenger Sam Brown, a veteran, but leads her opponent by about 7.8 points, according to RealClearPolitics.

Nevada, however, is rated a toss-up this year, even though the state has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.

Rosen has also endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket, but a campaign spokesperson told The New York Times that she is “focused on her own reelection.”

Sen. Jon Tester

Sen. Jon Tester of Montana might be the most vulnerable Democrat this election cycle, and is currently trailing his opponent, Tim Sheehy, by about 4.4 points, according to RealClearPolitics. Montana is rated as a safe Republican state, and has voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election since 1976 except for 1992.

Tester hasn’t endorsed Harris and claimed he wasn’t attending the DNC because it is harvest time on his farm, even though he has previously attended conventions in years when he was not up for re-election.

Rep. Yadira Caraveo

Rep. Yadira Caraveo of Colorado is a first-term congresswoman facing re-election, with Republicans targeting her seat. She is not attending the DNC, but has not given a reason why.

Colorado is rated likely Democratic and the state has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since 2008.

Rep. Val Hoyle

Rep. Val Hoyle of Oregon isn’t attending the DNC because of wildfires in her state, she told Punchbowl News. Though Oregon is a reliable Blue state, Democrats do appear to be targeting the race to ensure Hoyle stays in office, according to the Hill.

Rep. Jared Golden

Rep. Jared Golden of Maine is in a tough re-election in a red-leaning district that looks like it will vote for Trump this year. The state of Maine is rated likely Democrat, but its electoral votes are split and Trump is likely to get at least one electoral vote from Golden’s district, which is rated likely Republican.

Maine split its electoral votes in 2016 and 2020, but prior to that had voted Democrat since 1992.

Golden declined to join the virtual vote that installed Harris as the Democrats’ nominee, The Bangor Daily News reported.

Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola

Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola of Alaska managed to flip her congressional district Blue for the first time in decades when she was elected in 2022, but she faces an uphill battle for re-election. Alaska reliably votes Republican for president, but Trump carried the state in 2020 with the lowest margin in decades – 10%.

Sattler Peltola’s primary is this week.

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington barely defeated her Republican opponent in 2022 with 51% of the vote, and now faces a tough re-election in a district that leans Republican. She’s skipping the convention to focus on her own re-election, a press assistant told the Hill.