Niko

His record as a senator isn’t as important (for the very valid reasons you mentioned), but he was both my representative in state senate and the House before being my senator. I lived in MD for a long time.

Not sure how much I agree when it comes to putting his name out there, though. Effective legislators ought to not only advocate for their constituents, but also make them aware of how they are fulfilling the mandate they’ve been given.

Ultimately though if my biggest criticism of the guy is “he’s not very good at advertising himself,” then I certainly can live with him as a potential majority leader. Absolutely beats Schumer, anyway. I mostly ask why people like him because it’s bizarre seeing a (formerly) local politician’s name thrown around seemingly out of nowhere

How so?

He seems like a generally decent person, but I don’t understand where the excitement around him has come from. Hell, he was my representative for years, and I would struggle to recall much of anything that changed with him in office