The veteran Ohio politician describes his campaign as a fight for workers, while Republicans say he’s out of step.
Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has launched a comeback bid to reclaim a seat in the chamber, announcing a challenge against Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) in what could be one of the nation’s most closely watched races of 2026.
Brown announced his campaign in an Aug. 18 video, saying he didn’t plan on running for office again but was moved to do so in response to developments in Washington that he says don’t serve the best interests of Ohioans.
“Standing up for workers. Treating everyone with dignity and respect. Working as hard as possible for the people of Ohio,” he said, adding that “these days, that’s not what’s happening in Washington.”
Citing “reckless tariffs and economic chaos” that he said are driving up prices for families and threatening small businesses, he accused Republicans of raising drug prices and stripping health coverage from hundreds of thousands of Ohio residents.
The 72-year-old Democrat, who lost reelection last fall to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) in what was the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history, is targeting Husted, a former Ohio lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and state senator.
Husted, who was appointed to the U.S. Senate in January after then-Sen. JD Vance resigned to become vice president, has secured President Donald Trump’s early endorsement and reported raising $2.9 million in the last fundraising quarter.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Brown campaign with a request for fundraising information but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Husted’s campaign brushed off Brown’s comeback bid.
Brown will be “starting in the biggest hole of his political career,” Husted campaign spokesperson Tyson Shepard said. His “slogans will ring hollow as his coalition walks away, tired of the radical policies he’s forced to support to appease his coastal bosses in California and New York,” he said.
Brown backed President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which Republicans and others have described as a “radical” measure that includes climate-related provisions that they said threatened fossil fuel and manufacturing jobs and drove up energy prices.
Vance dubbed the bill the “Inflation Explosion Act” and, while still a senator from Ohio, said it was “the biggest driver of inflation in the United States today.”
By Tom Ozimek
