Sherrod Brown's Ohio Senate Comeback Bid Explained
Former Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is running for the U.S. Senate again in Ohio, two years after losing his seat.
Brown served three terms before losing to Republican businessman Bernie Moreno in 2024. He is now challenging Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Husted was appointed to fill the seat left open by JD Vance, according to NPR. Early voting was set to begin Oct. 6.
The broader context here is the rating and the stakes. The race was described as a toss-up, meaning either party could win it, and it could decide control of the Senate for President Trump's final two years in office. That rating makes Ohio central to both parties' Senate maps. It also puts added weight on the candidates and on voter turnout in a state that has voted more Republican in recent presidential elections.
Brown is running a campaign focused on labor and unions. He spoke at the Ohio AFL-CIO's meeting, which is held every two years, as part of his outreach to unions. He also joined a September rally with a local of the Communications Workers of America. He holds most of the union endorsements in the race, according to Christian Science Monitor.
His record includes 50 years in public office, including 32 years in Congress. He led an effort that secured owed pensions and retirement benefits for more than 100,000 Ohioans. The Alliance for Retired Americans endorsed him for Senate in August 2026. In September, he met with Ohio voters in Warren County during the campaign.
Brown was born and raised in Mansfield. He lives in Columbus with his wife Connie Schultz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and author. The couple drive Jeeps built by union workers in Toledo. Brown has three daughters and a son, eight grandchildren, and rescue dogs named Franklin and Walter.
In 2016, Donald Trump won 54% of union households in Ohio, while Hillary Clinton won 41%. Many working-class voters voted for Trump in the 2024 election in which Brown lost his seat.
Brown said in an AP interview in August 2025 that he did not intend to run for Senate again, according to AP.
In my view, what to watch next is how unusual this matchup is. His entry reset the field for Democrats. Husted has the advantage of incumbency, meaning he already holds the seat, but he reached the Senate by appointment and has not yet won statewide. Brown is widely known and has long ties to labor, but he must rebuild a winning group of voters after a loss in a presidential year. Control of the chamber may depend on whether Brown can win union households for Senate even in counties where voters rarely split tickets between parties for different offices.
