“[Brown] has a reservoir of wisdom the Dems could draw from,” former Virginia Rep. Tom Perriello declared Tuesday on Twitter.

Of all the Democrats who could plausibly play a part in the looming drama of the next presidential campaign, the raspy, rumpled populist emerged from Election Day with by far the most to brag about.

Like his fellow Rust Belt Democrats — Sens. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania — Brown cruised to reelection in a state that broke for Trump in 2016.

Unlike Stabenow, Baldwin or Casey, however, Brown managed to win in a state that backed Trump by 8 percent two years ago — not less than 1 percent, like the others — and where Republicans swept all of 2018’s other competitive contests, from governor on down.