Kentucky’s biggest Democratic donor says it’s time for President Biden to ‘pass the torch’
As calls continue for President Joe Biden to reconsider his place at the top of the ticket, Kentucky’s biggest Democratic donor has joined in.
Christy Brown, a prominent Louisville philanthropist, urged Biden to “pass the torch with grace,” in a recent Courier-Journal op-ed with her partner Tod Sedgwick, former ambassador to the Slovak Republic.
That comes after Brown and Sedgwick saw what every other political observer saw in the late June debate against former President Donald Trump where Biden appeared feeble and had difficulty finishing sentences.
But their op-ed was also inspired by their experience at a subsequent event for donors in Virginia.
“He was much clearer than he was at the debate, but his age was very clear,” Brown told the Herald-Leader. “What someone said to me was ‘the problem is that many, many people in America, every time they see our president in front of a microphone, will be holding their breath that he’ll get through what he’s trying to get through.’ I found that’s what I was doing in this small environment.”
Brown’s family runs the Brown-Forman Corporation, one of the country’s largest spirits and wine companies, with such internationally recognized brands as Woodford Reserve, Jack Daniels and Chambord. In 2020, Forbes ranked the Brown family as the 13th wealthiest in the nation.
She’s given more than $1 million to Democrats and Democrat-aligned organizations, according to figures from the Federal Elections Commission and the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.
Sedgwick, a former publisher and lumber executive, donated more than $140,000 to Democratic candidates across the country in the last 18 months, including to Biden.
Brown and Sedgwick said they have much respect for Biden’s political legacy, and that stepping aside would be the best way for him to preserve it. Biden is currently facing long odds at reelection in key battleground states, according to many pollsters.
“No company, no foundation, no institution would hire someone at a new job at 81 years old, and this is the most important job in the country,” Sedgwick said. “Biden is very concerned about his legacy — it would be a terrible legacy to leave a Trump-controlled White House, Senate and House.”
The pair joined a growing number of donors and fundraisers with their weekend op-ed.
The co-founder of Netflix, another tech billionaire, actor and Kentucky native George Clooney have all gone public with their calls for Biden to let another nominee lead the ticket before next month’s convention.
Brown said that in the aftermath of the op-ed, she’s heard of folks “passing it on to people in positions of decision-making,” and that she’d heard it might have reached the desk of the president or the First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden.
“I’m hearing some of that. I don’t know whether it’s true or not,” Brown said. “I’ll never know, probably.”
Though Brown hosted a fundraiser for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear that brought in more than $1 million to his successful reelection bid last year, her call is unrelated to his political prospects.
“Neither one of us have any desire to get into the selection process,” Brown said. “This work that we’re doing here has nothing to do with any of the talked-about alternative candidates.”
Beshear’s name has been thrown out as one possibility for the presidential ticket, more likely as a vice presidential nominee alongside current Vice President Kamala Harris.
Brown and Sedgwick strongly endorsed an idea floated by some others: a so-called “blitz primary” before the convention. That process would include forums hosted by famous Democrats and former presidents like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton to let the voters suss out who would work best at the top of the ticket before the party convention on Aug. 19.
But the clock is ticking, and the deadline may be approaching faster than first thought. Democratic party officials are seeking to cement Biden’s place on the ticket by Aug. 5, well in advance of the convention.
Brown added the caveat that if Biden opts to stay in, she would support him because “we need to defeat Donald Trump.”
“We were supporting the president, we have been, and we will continue to,” Brown said.
Mike Ward, a former Democratic congressman in the Louisville-based 3rd Congressional District, told the Herald-Leader he agreed “100%” with the op-ed.
It also means something that it’s Brown making the call, he said.
“Christy Brown is a stalwart Democrat who puts her money where her mouth is and has stepped up again and again to do the right thing for her Commonwealth and her country,” Ward said. “She’s absolutely doing the right thing in this case.”
Ward himself joined 23 other former members of Congress in a letter calling for Biden to step aside for the same reasons cited by Brown and Sedgwick.
The former congressman was also impressed that Sedgwick, an ambassador under Obama, stuck his neck out in such a way.
“He knows the stakes. He’s probably making some enemies by doing this, but he’s willing to do that,” Ward said.
This story was originally published July 16, 2024 at 12:34 PM.
