Ohio will have Sherrod Brown back in the Senate until January 2029, after his victory over Jon Husted gave Democrats a seat as they seek to retake control of the chamber.
Brown, 73, championed his ties to labour unions and working-class communities during the campaign. Husted, 59, had promoted data centers as lieutenant governor, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned in an August memo that the issue could doom his candidacy.
The Associated Press called the race for Brown, a former senator who lost his seat to Bernie Moreno by four points in 2024 after serving three terms and representing Ohio for 18 years.
Brown is the seventh former US senator since 1946 to lose a seat and later return to the Senate.
Husted had been appointed to the seat by Governor Mike DeWine in January 2023, after JD Vance won the vice presidency and vacated the Senate seat he had won in 2022. Husted had previously served as speaker of the Ohio House, secretary of state and lieutenant governor. This was his first race for the US Senate.
At a Stark County GOP picnic in August, Husted presented himself as rooted in the state. “I'm, like, an Ohio guy. D.C. is not my place. When my flight goes in on Monday, I'm a lot less happy than when I'm coming home on Thursday, right? But I understand how important it is. You have to have somebody there that knows your state, is going to fight for you.”
The contest became one of the country's most expensive Senate races. Brown far outraised Husted, and the candidates together brought in more than $80 million. By mid-October, candidates and outside groups had spent more than $422 million.
Outside groups spent $270 million on the race, more than in any other state's Senate contest except Texas, according to Open Secrets.
The campaign brought an onslaught of negative television advertising. Ohio was the only state with a close Senate race in which Democrats ran more broadcast television advertisements than Republicans, according to AdImpact.
Former President Barack Obama campaigned for Brown at a rally on October 24. “This is not a guy who enriched himself cozying up to corporations. He's still wearing the same suit he was in when I met him 20 years ago,” Obama said.
President Trump, who won Ohio in the last three presidential cycles, including by 11 points in 2024, met with Husted on three visits to the state in October.
At a rally in Youngstown on October 12, Trump said of Husted: “I started examining his body because I didn't know he was a great athlete”.
At a rally in the week before the election, Trump said: “I look at Jon. I studied his physique. I studied the feet, the legs, the heads, the shoulders” and “I saved his ass. I saved his ass. I saved him. He was down and now he's up”.
Vance, campaigning as a surrogate in mid-October, told reporters: “What do I bring as a surrogate? I mean, look, this is my home state”.
With 85% of votes counted, the Associated Press put Brown on 48.4% and Husted on 46.7%.
The Associated Press ultimately called the contest with Brown receiving 48.6% of the vote to Husted's 46.5%.
Brown will serve the remainder of Vance's term and must seek reelection in 2028 to keep the seat.
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