Ohio
Sherrod Brown is trying to reclaim the seat he lost in 2024 — this time against appointed Sen. Jon Husted. It's a genuine pickup opportunity, and one of the only ones on the map this cycle. Every point here matters in the fight to flip the Senate majority.
Brown (D)
Undecided 5%
Husted (R)
RealClearPolitics polling average, early July 2026
You're joining 320 people who picked Ohio so far.
Know the opponent
Who is Jon Husted?
- As DeWine's lieutenant governor, Husted's own official calendar shows a dozen meetings with the FirstEnergy executives now on trial for orchestrating Ohio's largest public corruption scandal — a $60 million bribery scheme to pass a billion-dollar nuclear bailout.
- Denied any involvement for years — “We weren't involved,” he told reporters in 2024 — but text messages and his own calendars, obtained by the AP, tell a different story.
- Skipped in-person testimony in the corruption trial citing a scheduling conflict, then flew home the same week for a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser.
- Sits in the Senate by appointment, not election — Gov. DeWine handed him the seat after JD Vance became vice president.
- Locked in a dead-even race, per Bowling Green State University polling, against a 72-year-old challenger he's trying to paint as out of touch.
Sourced from the Associated Press, Ohio Capital Journal, NOTUS, and Wikipedia reporting, 2025–2026.
Meet Brown
Ohio's fighter, back for one more round
Sherrod Brown spent nearly two decades in the Senate building a reputation nobody else in Ohio politics has: a Democrat who wins union halls and steel towns Republicans usually count on. He calls it the “dignity of work” — and it's not a slogan, it's a voting record.
- Wrote the law that restored full Social Security benefits to over 2 million retired teachers, bus drivers, and police officers nationwide.
- Fought to cap insulin costs and lower prescription drug prices for Ohio seniors.
- Earned a 100% rating from the AFL-CIO and just 4% from Heritage Action — a contrast his opponent can't match.
- Nearly won in 2018 in a state Trump carried by 8 points, running the same working-class message he's running now.
How we win Ohio
The path to flipping this seat
- Win back the ticket-splitters who backed both Trump and Brown in past cycles — Ohio has more of them than almost any other battleground.
- Make the FirstEnergy scandal concrete, not abstract: Husted met the bribery scheme's architects a dozen times and still calls it “keeping the lights on.”
- Center affordability and cost of living — the top issue Ohio voters cite race after race, and the one where Brown has a 40-year track record.
- Use the labor and union relationships Brown already has to drive turnout in industrial counties.
Talking points
What to say when it comes up
- “Husted met with the men now on trial for Ohio's biggest bribery scandal a dozen times — and still says he wasn't involved.”
- “Brown got 2 million retired teachers, bus drivers, and cops their full Social Security back. Husted's donors got a $60 million bailout.”
- “Husted skipped testifying in person in a corruption trial, then flew home for a fundraiser instead.”
- “This isn't Brown's first tough race in Ohio — it's the one he's won before.”
Your voice counts
Will you back the fight to flip Ohio?
Democrats hold the Senate at 53-47. This race is one of three that gets us there. A pledge is the first step — it tells us where our people are.