Within 24 hours of Sherrod Brown’s announcement that he’ll try and reclaim an Ohio seat in the U.S. Senate next year, money is already flowing from inside and outside the state.
The Monday morning campaign launch came after months of conjecture about whether Brown, who is 72, would run for office again—and for which office, on a so-far scarce Democratic statewide ticket.
“(Brown) is just a very strong candidate. He knows Ohio, he knows what families there need, what workers there need,” Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Lauren French said in an interview Tuesday. “It is a redder state than it used to be, to be sure, and it’s going to be a hard-fought race.”
President Donald Trump won Ohio in 2016 and 2020 by more than eight percentage points, and gained votes in the 2024 election, winning by more than 11 points over former Vice President Kamala Harris. Still, national politicos will possibly give Ohio a second look with Brown in.
The Senate Majority PAC mostly backs incumbents and other priority Democrats who already won their primaries, French said. Brown doesn’t fit into either box, but as a newly-minted former senator, he’s getting the same treatment.
He is more than likely to face off in 2026 against U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, who Gov. Mike DeWine elevated to Vice President JD Vance’s vacant seat in January.
Even as the most freshman member of the Senate, Husted does have some advantages as an incumbent. National GOP committees and PACs, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Senate Leadership Fund, wasted no time in releasing their own attack ads.
“Chuck Schumer and Democrats are even more delusional than I thought if they think Ohioans want anything to do with Sherrod Brown after they fired him,” Senate Leadership Fund spokesperson Chris Gustafson said, in part, in an emailed statement.
In July, Husted had $2.6 million in cash on hand for his race to hold onto his seat, according to the Federal Elections Commission. Combined contributions to the Husted for Senate campaign and affiliated committees and PACs from April 1 through June 30 totaled almost $2 million, according to second-quarter filings made then.
Brown’s team said Tuesday he raised $3.6 million, between its Brown for Senate campaign and affiliated committees and PACs, just on Monday. The Statehouse News Bureau cannot independently confirm those numbers, since they are not yet available through FEC disclosures.
Whoever wins in 2026 would have to run for reelection in 2028 for a six-year term.
