Former Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio announced Monday he is launching a comeback bid, giving Democrats a boost in their longshot campaign to win back control of the Senate.
With no serious primary competition, Brown’s announcement effectively kicks off a nearly 15-month general election face-off against Sen. Jon Husted, a Republican appointed earlier this year by Gov. Mike DeWine to fill the seat vacated by JD Vance when he became vice president.
“For the past eight months, all they've done is made things worse for Ohioans, handing over your hard-earned money to corporations and to billionaires,” Brown said in a campaign launch video. “Their reckless tariffs and economic chaos are increasing prices and threatening the survival of small businesses all across our state.”
Brown, 72, was heavily courted by Democrats who saw him as their only hope to flip a Senate seat in an increasingly out-of-reach red state.
Brown has cultivated a brand as a grizzled populist who supports the labor movement and is skeptical of free trade agreements. He has repeatedly outperformed other Democrats in the state, including in 2024, when Brown lost his seat by fewer than 4 percentage points. Former Vice President Kamala Harris fell short by 11 points in the same election.
Brown is also a proven fundraiser, raking in more than $100 million in last cycle’s Senate contest.
Senate Democrats have turned to familiar faces in the 2026 midterm elections as they try to take back power. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer visited and called Brown as he coaxed him to make another run. Top Democrats also successfully persuaded former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to run for the Senate. And they are likewise looking to convince Maine Gov. Janet Mills to campaign against Sen. Susan Collins.
Republicans have signaled that they intend to use Democratic Senate candidates’ long records against them. In a recent memo, the National Republican Senatorial Committee said that Democrats “appear ready to reach into the past” by recruiting Brown and vowed to “defeat him by an even wider margin the second time around.”
Cryptocurrency interests are also indicating that they could again unload their war chest against Brown after a crypto-funded super PAC dropped more than $40 million to unseat him last year.
Brown’s and Cooper’s entrance into the midterms immediately improves Democrats’ chances, but Republicans are still favored to maintain control of the Senate after 2026. To retake the chamber, Democrats would need to win four GOP-controlled seats and hold onto all their Democratic seats, including two in states that Trump won last year.
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