The Small Midwestern Cities That Could Play a Pivotal Role in This Year’s Elections

Sherrod Brown and a dwindling band of Democrats in Ohio are still making the case for a certain kind of Democratic Party that cares about the working class, that values the manufacturing jobs that power the nation.

Brown is running for re-election again, but the political landscape is much changed.

Even if your own finances are secure, if you look out your window and see your city struggling, you believe you are, too.

Frida Ghitis: For decades , smaller cities leaned Democratic , but in the past decade , they have turned redder.

She says seeing your small city become a shadow of its former self can open you to a populist message even if you are managing.

Ghitis says the plight of these small cities is personal, because he’s from an archetypal one.

John Sutter : Democrats have been urging their party to pay more heed to these scattered outposts of their base.

He says it's hard to see how Democrats will revive their standing in Ohio without helping these small cities revive.

Sutter says Brown is as vulnerable now as he has ever been; Kaptur 's race is just as competitive.