Brown wins Ohio Senate seat, flipping state for Democrats
The former senator defeated incumbent Jon Husted in a special election, gaining support among young voters and moderates despite a high-cost campaign and visits from President Trump.
By Adewale Fletcher ·
Former Senator Sherrod Brown defeated incumbent Republican Jon Husted on Tuesday, taking control of an Ohio U.S. Senate seat that Democrats needed to retake the chamber. The victory reverses a decade-long trend in the former swing state, which had shifted sharply toward the right. Brown’s win provides a strategic opening for the party in a state many analysts had written off as out of reach.
The campaign was one of the most expensive in recent history, with spending exceeding $500 million from both sides and their allies. Brown targeted Husted’s support for artificial intelligence data centers, his connections to a statehouse bribery scandal, and campaign donations from billionaire Les Wexner. Wexner previously employed Jeffrey Epstein, a fact Brown’s team used to critique the Republican’s ties to the Epstein files controversy.
President Donald Trump made multiple visits to Ohio to campaign for Husted, promoting the former college football player’s physical appearance as a selling point. Trump and Vice President JD Vance also emphasized the economic benefits of AI data centers to counter Husted’s vulnerabilities on the issue. Despite these endorsements, the president’s lower approval ratings and his recent tariff policies, which raised fuel prices, appeared to complicate his impact on the race.
Brown, 73, leveraged his long tenure in public office to build name recognition and contrast his record against Husted’s. He attacked Husted’s role in the FirstEnergy bribery scandal, noting that while Husted was not accused of a crime, he testified in the trial of two former executives. Brown’s team aired footage of that testimony to highlight the connection. In response, Husted ran advertisements emphasizing Brown’s age, including a spot showing Brown as a seven-year-old when the senior Democrat first entered politics.
Voting data from the AP Voter Poll indicates that about half of Ohio voters held a favorable view of Brown, compared to roughly 40 percent for Husted. Many voters viewed Husted as too supportive of Trump, while fewer than half considered Brown too extreme. The results show a distinct shift among younger demographics, with about 70 percent of voters under 30 supporting Brown, up from about 50 percent in 2024.
Brown also improved his standing among moderate voters, winning about two-thirds of that group compared to 60 percent in the previous cycle. He made modest gains among lower-income voters and women. This broadened support helped him overcome a challenging political environment where the president’s trade war with Canada and conflict with Iran had affected consumer sentiment.
Because the election was technically a special election, Brown will serve out the remaining two years of the term originally won by JD Vance in 2022. Husted, 59, was appointed to the seat when Vance became vice president last year. Husted had held various state offices, including lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and state House speaker, over the past 25 years.
In his victory speech, Brown pledged to represent all Ohioans, stating that he does not work for utility companies, data centers, or Wall Street. He emphasized his commitment to the state regardless of how individuals voted. Husted delivered an emotional concession speech, urging Americans to fight for the nation’s founding ideals and expressing hope for the country’s future.
The race marked the third consecutive U.S. Senate election cycle in Ohio, with another scheduled for two years from now. Unlike previous contests won by political newcomers Bernie Moreno and JD Vance, this race featured two seasoned politicians. Brown’s comeback, coming just two years after his loss to Moreno, underscores the fluid nature of the state’s electorate in the current political climate.
