Polls showing Sen. Sherrod Brown down latest blow to Ohio Democrats: This is bad

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A powerful Democrat in an ever-reddening state, Sen.Sherrod Brown is on Ohio’s endangered species list.

And two new polls showing Brown falling behind his GOP opponent for the first time this cycle may mean he’s in more danger than expected.The ActiVote poll, which surveyed 400 likely voters between Aug.16 and Sept.

22, shows Brown’s Republican challenger, businessman Bernie Moreno, 2.2 points ahead, 51.1% to 48.9%.The other poll comes from RMG Research, which surveyed 781 likely voters from Sept.

18 to 20.Moreno leads by 2 points in this survey as well, 48% to Brown’s 46%.

Both polls show the race within their margins of error, +/- 4.9 points in the ActiVote poll and 3.5 points in RMG’s.This Ohio Senate race has been labeled a toss-up since the very start, but Brown has maintained a 3- to 5-point edge in the polls before this data.

The RealClearPolitics polling average gives Brown a 3.8-point advantage.“This is bad,” the Ohio Democratic Party said in a campaign fundraising email soon after the polls were released.“We can’t let Bernie Moreno gain any more ground — not if we want to keep the Senate blue.“Analysts say Moreno’s bump likely comes down to three major factors:Brown’s defeat would be another major blow to Ohio’s swing-state status, which has been in question for years as the state increasingly elects Republicans at the state and federal level.

The GOP controls all three branches of state government, plus the offices of its secretary of state, attorney general and treasurer.Brown’s historically solid poll numbers and Ohio’s recent willingness to pass left-leaning ballot measures like marijuana legalization gave Dems some hope the state wasn’t completely lost to the GOP, but this good news for Moreno is another blow to the blue party.

“Sherrod Brown sold out his working-class base to toe the Democrat Party line,” said Philip Letsou, the spokesman for the House Republicans’ campaign arm.“H...