Former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown got a second chance today (Tuesday) to return to the U.S. Senate, as Ohio voters cast ballots for the seat vacated by Vice President J.D. Vance. Vance won one of Ohio’s seats in the 2022 elections, while Brown held the second seat for 18 years until he lost it in the 2024 elections to Republican Bernie Moreno. After Vance was elected vice president, the state’s governor appointed Jon Husted, then lieutenant governor, to his seat—and now Brown is challenging him.
1+The vote is taking place as part of the U.S. midterm elections, and the winner will serve just two years, through the end of Vance’s term. Polls in Ohio close at 2:30 a.m. Israel time.
Most polls released in recent weeks have shown a slight edge for Brown. In a Marist University poll, the Democratic candidate received 48% of likely voters compared to 44% for Husted. In a Fox News poll conducted in October, the gap was larger—52% for Brown versus 47% for his opponent. By contrast, a Rasmussen poll released yesterday showed a dead heat at 46% for each candidate. Earlier in October, Husted led in that same poll by two points, and the polling average puts Brown ahead by less than three points.
Husted has enjoyed President Donald Trump’s backing. Throughout the campaign, he attacked his opponent and argued he’s a career politician whose decades in Washington haven’t solved the state’s economic and immigration problems. The former senator, for his part, focused his campaign on the cost of living and promised to work to lower drug and electricity prices. Ohio was once considered a swing state, but over the past decade it has clearly tilted Republican—Trump won it in the 2024 election by more than 11 points.
1+Senate Majority Leader John Thune has defined Ohio as the central battleground in the fight for the Republican majority in the upper chamber. Democrats see the seat as one of their most prominent flip opportunities in the midterms. The race has also become one of the most expensive in the state: through mid-October, nearly $200 million was spent by outside groups on Husted’s behalf, most of it on ads attacking Brown. About $95 million was spent supporting the Democratic candidate.