Sherrod asks: 'Whose side are you on?'
Former Sen. Brown announces he's running in 2026; says he's confident he can defeat Jon Husted
Sherrod Brown, the longtime Democratic senator from Ohio who lost his seat in 2024, says he’s not done with politics. In an interview with journalist Aaron Parnas on The Parnas Perspective, Brown announced Monday morning that he will run in 2026 for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Jon Husted.
“Everywhere I go in Columbus or Cleveland or Mansfield, people come up and they’re hurting. They’ve always known the system’s rigged, and it’s only gotten worse,” Brown said. “We see a half-million Ohioans losing their health insurance. We see higher grocery and drug prices. Corporations are rigging the system at the expense of middle-class workers. I didn’t want to sit on the sidelines.”
Brown, 72, served three terms in the Senate before losing narrowly to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024. He frames his comeback campaign as a fight against what he calls a “rigged system” tilted toward wealthy corporations.
Clear contrast with Husted
Brown said he expects no Democratic primary challenge and will face Husted, who was appointed to the Senate in late 2024 after Ohio Sen. J’D. Vance joined was elected vice president.
Brown wasted no time drawing contrasts:
“John Husted has spent his career siding with corporate special interests—oil companies, Wall Street, drug companies, electric utilities. Now, in Washington, he’s already voting the same way. My career has been about fighting for workers, consumer protections, and lower prices. That’s the contrast.”
Why Brown thinks Ohio can flip
Ohio has trended Republican in recent presidential elections, and Donald Trump carried the state handily in 2016, 2020, and 2024. But Brown argued that the GOP’s budget bill—passed earlier this year—could give Democrats an opening.
“People didn’t vote for losing health insurance. They didn’t vote for tax cuts that go overwhelmingly to the rich or for running up the national debt. They didn’t vote for higher drug prices or closing rural hospitals. That’s what this bill does. When you make that contrast clear, voters respond.”
Brown said Republicans defending the budget bill have faced hostile receptions in local meetings. “If a senator shows up and gets booed in a room full of business leaders and social service agencies, that tells you a lot,” he said.
A campaign that expects to be outspent
The Ohio race is expected to be among the most expensive in the nation. Brown said he is prepared.
“Every time I’ve run, Wall Street, the drug companies, the insurance industry—they’ve come in with a lot of money. I’ll be outspent again. But I’ve won elections before, even when outspent. This is about whose side you’re on, and that’s an easy contrast to make.”
Brown pointed to his past work on expanding the Child Tax Credit and securing pensions for 250,000 Ohio workers as proof of his focus on tangible economic issues.
What’s next
Brown pledged that if elected he would work to undo the most damaging provisions of the budget bill and push again for middle-class tax relief.
He closed the interview with a direct appeal for grassroots help.
“People can come to SherBrown.com and volunteer or contribute $10, $15, $20. My average contribution is small, but it adds up. We’ll be outspent, but we’ll have the people on our side.”
Whether Brown can turn that people-power into a win remains to be seen. But his re-entry immediately makes Ohio’s 2026 Senate race one of the most closely watched contests in the country.
Where is Jon Husted?
Husted took office in January and has supported President Trump’s agenda, including the budget bill, which Trump and Republicans refer to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” He has not responded to phone calls or email inquiries, and his deputy chief of staff does not return calls or respond to inquiries.
StayTunedSandusky.com reached out to his chief of staff, Rebecca Card Angelson and his staff director Joshua Eck on Monday seeking to arrange an interview with Husted.