“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. Their reckless tariffs and economic chaos are increasing prices and threatening the survival of small businesses across the state. Instead of lowering the cost of healthcare, they're raising drug prices on seniors and kicking 490,000 hardworking Ohioans off their coverage. And they increased the deficit by more than 3 trillion dollars, all while giving billionaires the largest tax cut in American history.” - Campaign Announcement Launch Video, reported by J. Ingles, Statehouse News Bureau, 8/18/25

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To hear directly from former Senator Brown, watch this short video:

Sherrod Brown officially launches campaign to return to US Senate

BACKGROUND + EXPERIENCE

Sherrod Brown, a Mansfield, Ohio native, earned his BA from Yale University and graduate degrees in Public Administration (MPA) and Education (MA) from Ohio State University.

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Brown has held public office for 50 years:

• Ohio State Representative 1975-1982

• Ohio Secretary of State 1983-1991

• US Representative 1993-2007

• US Senator 2007-2025

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In the Senate, Brown chaired the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and served on Finance, Veterans’ Affairs, and Ethics. After losing re-election in 2024 to Republican Bernie Moreno, he founded the Dignity of Work Institute, focused on reconnecting Democrats with working-class voters—what he calls both “an electoral and moral imperative.”

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On August 18, Brown announced his run for Ohio’s other Senate seat in the 2026 special election. The seat is currently held by Jon Husted, appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine after J.D. Vance became vice president.

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ON THE ISSUES

Brown’s guiding principle is the dignity of work, inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s conviction that “all labor has dignity.” His record reflects this commitment:

• Advocated for higher wages, better benefits, and affordable healthcare

• Declined congressional healthcare until passage of the Affordable Care Act

• Opposed tax and trade policies that favored corporations over workers

• Longtime champion of marriage equality (supporting it for 25 years)

• Voted against both the Iraq War and NAFTA

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POLITICS IN OHIO

Ohio, the seventh most populous state with the fourth largest rural population, has shifted solidly Republican. Once a swing state, it backed Donald Trump in all three elections by margins of 16, 20, and 11.2 points.

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The state has a Republican trifecta and triplex, with the GOP controlling the governorship, statewide offices, legislature, and most of its congressional delegation (10 of 15 House seats, both Senate seats.) Redistricting now threatens two Democratic House incumbents. For years, Brown was Ohio’s only statewide Democratic officeholder.

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As of 8/18/25, both The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rate the 2026 race as Lean Republican, giving Husted a slight edge—but these ratings were issued before Brown entered the race.

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