Sherrod Brown will wage a Senate comeback bid in Ohio, giving Democrats a top-tier candidate and raising the odds that the party can win back control of Congress' upper chamber in the near future.
Cleveland.com reported Tuesday that Brown has decided to run, though he has yet to make a formal announcement. Last week, Brown's wife, author Connie Schultz, posted an image on Instagram that in the background had an image of a resume for a potential campaign aide, raising suspicions that Brown was inching closer to a bid.
Punchbowl News’ Max Cohen reported that Brown is set to make his official announcement in one to two weeks.
Brown is a prime recruit for Democrats.
Bernie Moreno, shown in 2022, narrowly beat Sherrod Brown in last year’s Senate race in Ohio.
The populist Democrat lost reelection in 2024 to Republican Bernie Moreno. However, Brown lost by 3.6 percentage points, even though Donald Trump won the state by over 11 points. Given that 2026 is expected to be a far less favorable year for Republicans than 2024, Brown's overperformance could be enough to buoy him to victory against GOP Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed to the seat after JD Vance resigned to unfortunately become vice president.
After his loss in 2024, Brown said he wasn’t done with public service, telling Politico that he planned to focus his time helping working-class Americans.
“I don’t see Nov. 5 as a failure,” Brown told Politico after his loss. “I see it as sort of a new start of continuing my work focusing on workers.”
With Brown entering the race, Kyle Kondik, an elections analyst at Sabato's Crystal Ball, said the contest moves from a “Likely Republican” race to “Lean Republican.”
"It would be great for Democrats to get a real candidate in this race, but Husted would still start as a favorite in a clearly Republican-leaning state," Kondik wrote.
Brown's decision to run marks the latest recruiting win for Senate Democrats.
In North Carolina’s open-seat contest, Democrats convinced popular former Gov. Roy Cooper to run, giving Democrats perhaps their best pick-up opportunity next November. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who is retiring, won his previous race, in 2020, by less than 2 points.
In Texas, former Rep. Colin Allred also announced he’s running for Senate, though other strong Democratic candidates could also enter the race, including state Rep. James Talarico, who has been visible in leading the charge to combat the GOP’s corrupt redistricting attempt in the state.
And in Iowa, JD Scholten announced he’s running to take on GOP Sen. Joni Ernst, who is reportedly wavering about whether to run for reelection.
Ultimately, Democrats need to win four seats and defend all current seats to win a majority in 2026. While it's a very tall order, the party's impressive bench gives Democrats a fighting chance.
