HAMPTON ROADS, Virginia — Bobby Scott is not a showman. Democrats need to decide if they need it.
The longtime Democratic representative, who is eager to return as chairman of the House Education Committee next year, was returning to his district for the kind of office he has held for years. Visiting a high school, he posed for photos with organizers helping families fill out the new federal student aid form, shared jokes and was stopped by a security guard who wanted to take a selfie.
But Scott, who has faced no serious challenger from either party since he was elected more than 30 years ago, is forced to prove himself 200 miles north, in Washington.
He is calm and methodical and has little interest in making a scene, which has proven to be a vulnerability: facing the president that of Donald Trump Determined to dismantle the Department of Education, two of Scott’s fellow Democrats believe this moment in history — and stopping this president in particular — requires a president willing to make noise.
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