Sherrod Brown won’t run for president

Sen. Sherrod Brown said Thursday he won’t run for president, subtracting one of the more intriguing figures from Democrats’ 2020 field.

The Ohio senator had been viewed as a potential wild card candidate with strong liberal credentials from the Midwest.

His decision now leaves a field of declared candidates that is heavily tilted toward the coastal states and the increasingly far-left bent of the Democratic Party there.

“I will do everything I can to elect a Democratic President and a Democratic Senate in 2020. The best place for me to make that fight is in the United States Senate,” Mr. Brown said.

He announced the move in a statement, even as he took to the Senate floor to deliver a rousing speech attacking Senate Republicans and president Trump over everything from Obamacare to appointment of judges.

Mr. Brown had tested his appeal to voters in recent weeks, visiting the early primary states with his campaign message promoting the dignity of work as a campaign issue.

He intrigued the press more than he did voters. His standing in national polls has hovered at somewhere between 1 and 3 percent.

Mr. Brown still insisted Thursday that his message is a winning one for whomever adopts it.

“Dignity of work is a value that unites all of us,” he said. “It is how we beat Trump, and it is how we should govern. That’s why I’m confident it will continue to be a focus for Democrats in 2020, and I plan on making sure that happens.”

He becomes the fifth high-profile Democrat over the last week to refuse to run. Democratic 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., Sen. Jeff Merkley and billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg also said they aren’t running.