Democratic speaker says he’s ‘sick’ of ‘salt-and-pepper’ males in DC — while campaigning for a 71-year-old man

COLUMBUS — A Democrat introducing 71-year old Sen. Sherrod Brown at a campaign rally in southern Ohio sparked outrage when he said he’s “sick of old-ass Republican men with salt-and-pepper hair telling a woman what she can and can’t do with her body.” 

Brown, who famously sports an unkempt mop of definitively salt-and-pepper locks, is in the fight of his life against Republican challenger Bernie Moreno — a 57-year-old business owner from Cleveland who’s hair is as brown as the local football team. 

Washington’s comments have led some to accuse the Democratic Party in Ohio of supporting ageism.

Vice Chair of Ohio Dems Andre Washington was speaking for Brown to supporters when he transitioned suddenly and voiced displeasure with the age of Republican candidates and the idea of “making America great again.”

“I remember last week I was listening to Reverend Otis Walsh III preach. And he said, ‘I am disturbed in my soul when I hear someone talk about making America great again.’ And when they use the word ‘America’ and ‘great’ with past tense language, my soul is disturbed and I can’t be quiet,” Washington said.

“What year are they talking about? Was it the year before me as an African-American was able to vote? Was it the year before women were able to vote? Was it the year before unions were able to organize?”

Sen. Sherrod Brown meeting with workers and management during a tour of the Crown Battery Plant in Fremont, Ohio. Roger LaPointe/The News-Messenger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Those comments came just days after President Biden called Republican voters “garbage,” which has sparked fierce debate about double standards for conservatives in political rhetoric. 

“Once again, Sherrod Brown is showing his contempt for Ohioans who support President Trump,” said Moreno campaign spokeswoman Reagan McCarthy. “On Tuesday, Ohio will send a clear message and finally retire him after 50 years in public office.”

Bernie Moreno listening to a speech at a campaign stop in Northwood, Ohio. Getty Images

Brown himself declined to comment on this story, but his opponents in Ohio expect words like these to have lasting consequences at the polls.

“In a state Donald Trump will easily carry, Sherrod Brown is spending the closing days of his campaign alongside a Trump-hating radical who believes America is systematically racist and is opposed to making America great,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Phil Letsou. “That’s because Brown is far-left Democrat who voted to impeach Trump twice and backed Kamala Harris’s agenda almost 100% of the time. Ohio will reject him.”

The Ohio Senate race remains in toss-up-town. The RealClearPolitics polling average gives Brown a narrow 1.7-point lead.

The difference may simply come down to Donald Trump, who’s polling on average 8 points ahead of Kamala Harris in the once-fierce Buckeye battleground.