Republicans in Ohio and across the nation are rallying behind freshman Sen. Jon Husted following Democrat Sherrod Brown’s announcement that he is running for Husted’s seat. Brown, who represented Ohio in the Senate for nearly two decades before leaving office last year, is returning to the political stage.
“Sherrod Brown’s recent announcement means Ohioans will face a clear choice in 2026,” Jon Husted for Senate Communications Director Tyson Shepard told Fox News Digital. “For 30 years, he has imposed Washington’s problems on Ohio, pushing radical liberal policies that have left a lasting burden on the next generation. Jon Husted offers the opposite approach, applying Ohio’s values and solutions to fix a broken Washington. The challenges our nation faces are the same ones Husted has helped our state confront and overcome, championing the values he learned growing up in northwest Ohio: hard work, personal responsibility, family, faith, freedom, and patriotism.”
Republicans across the Buckeye State have expressed optimism this week that Husted, appointed to the Senate earlier this year by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to fill the seat vacated by JD Vance, will defeat Brown next year.
Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, who defeated Brown last year despite entering the race as a polling underdog, commented on X, saying, “After 50 years of living off the taxpayer, losing an election by a wide margin with $300 million in out-of-state money, abandoning working Ohioans to be Chuck Schumer’s lap dog, and sucking up to coastal elites, it’s time for @SherrodBrown to just go away.”
Ohio Republican Congressman Jim Jordan added on X, “Ohio is lucky to have @SenJonHusted in the Senate!”
Gov. DeWine called Brown a “formidable” candidate but expressed confidence that Husted “will win.” Ohio Republican Congressman Max Miller also voiced skepticism, telling AM 1420 The Answer, “I have no idea what Brown is thinking getting back into this race. Men in women’s sports, open borders, selling out to China? Ohioans don’t like that.”
National Republican leaders are showing support for Husted as well. Senator and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott stated on X, “We beat him once. We’ll beat him again.”
Support for Husted has even come from some corners of Ohio traditionally aligned with Brown, including endorsements from the sheriff of Brown’s home county and the Northwest Ohio Building & Construction Trades Council (NWOBCTC), which represents 18 affiliated local unions and thousands of skilled workers across eight counties.
“More momentum for @JonHusted,” Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said on X following the NWOBCTC endorsement. “While Sherrod Brown talks a big game, his record tells a different story. He has toed the line for coastal elites, focusing on their radical leftist agenda and ignoring the needs of Ohio’s working families. Jon actually fights for Ohio workers, and this is a well-earned endorsement!”
Brown, who spent over three decades representing Ohio in the House and Senate, was actively recruited by top national Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who made multiple trips to the state to encourage Brown’s candidacy.
Husted, who has served as Ohio’s lieutenant governor and secretary of state, enters the race with Trump’s endorsement to complete the final two years of Vance’s six-year term.
“I didn’t plan to run for office again, but when I see what’s going on, I know I can do something about it for Ohio,” Brown said in a campaign launch video.
Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, noted in a statement, “No one fights harder for Ohio than Sherrod Brown. From securing Ohioans’ retirement and Social Security benefits to cracking down on fentanyl from China and Mexico, Sherrod will always do what’s right for Ohioans.” The DSCC has actively promoted Brown’s announcement on X, highlighting his record for Ohio workers while criticizing Husted’s support of Trump’s legislative agenda.
Ohio, once a key general election battleground, has shifted increasingly red over the past decade. Trump carried the state by 11 points over Kamala Harris, though Brown outperformed the top of the ticket, losing to Moreno by less than four points.
The party not holding the White House typically draws strong turnout in midterm elections, giving Democrats reason for cautious optimism. Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy may also help counterbalance that dynamic in 2026.
“Having Sherrod on the ticket and asking Ohio voters who strongly support President Trump and our party whether they want to go backward will be a strong turnout argument for us,” Ohio Republican Party Chair Alex Triantafilou told Spectrum News. “Because we cannot return to the days of Sherrod Brown and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
Brown marks the second top recruit Senate Democrats have secured this year, alongside North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, as the party aims to regain the chamber’s majority. Currently, the GOP holds a 53-47 Senate majority.
