Like much of the rest of the country, Ohioans have been navigating rising costs, whether it be for utilities or gas, for a home or a week’s worth of groceries.
In the race for the U.S. Senate, GOP incumbent Sen. Jon Husted and Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown each have tried to seize the narrative on affordability, often to blame their opponent.
An ad from May from Husted blames Brown for the “sky-high cost of living.” A more recent digital hit from Brown attacks Husted over comments he made on a podcast, when Husted said, “you literally have to teach people how to budget.”
“F— that!” a woman tells the camera.
As some Americans’ wages stagnate, many elements of life also cost more.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the inflation rate, which had cooled off from 2020, rising again. Over a year, residential electric bills have ballooned statewide by 13.5% on average, according to data from the Ohio Public Utilities Commission.
Taxes and benefits
Beyond the jabs, Brown and Husted are touting their own records.
For Husted, who filled Vice President JD Vance’s vacant Senate seat in 2025, that’s largely tied to President Donald Trump’s record.
“Prices are still too high,” Husted said earlier this year. “We’re trying to get them down as fast as we can ... the Working Families Tax Cut allows families to keep more of what they earn.”
He’s talking about measures in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed last year and included short-term federal tax deductions on some earnings, as well as for Americans over 65, many of whom are collecting Social Security.
Brown’s final vote in the Senate in 2024 was for the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act, which he co-authored. The change has been a huge point of pride for him this election season, as he told AARP.
“I worked with Ohio’s seniors for a decade to make it the law of the land. It restored full benefits to 250,000 Ohioans, including teachers, firefighters and police officers and other public employees,” he said.
It ended two long-term measures that reduced Social Security benefits for public sector retirees and their families who receive pensions or similar benefits.
Tariffs
Trump’s tariffs are another factor in the affordability equation.
Data analysis by the New York Federal Reserve shows tariffs driving inflationary increases on everyday goods. They’ve cost Ohio around $11 billion statewide, according to data from the right-leaning National Taxpayers Union Foundation, which advocates for taxpayers broadly.
Husted has largely defended the administration’s work on tariffs, though he also called them challenging in an interview with the Statehouse News Bureau late last year.
“We’ve got to hold them accountable, but at the same time, when they retaliate, sometimes, that makes it hard on American consumers,” Husted said.
Brown, who years ago backed shorter-term, targeted tariffs, has been vocal against Trump’s wide-ranging ones.
“Farmers can’t afford a new tractor or a new combine, they in many cases can’t even afford the spare parts because of the tariffs,” he told reporters last month. “And so prices are higher everywhere, but you end the war and you end the tariffs, it’s going to have an immediate impact on gas prices, on diesel prices, on the cost of food.”
Utilities
Though Democrats were slow to criticize the data center industry, Brown has brought them center stage in this race, highlighting Husted’s past praise of data center construction and linking them to utility bills.
Husted has also recently recalibrated, saying they need to cover their own costs.
Ohio voters get the final say on affordability issues and more Tuesday, Nov. 3.
