The $100 million campaign: Brown vs. Husted

For Brown, it's gloves off while Husted stays on autopilot

Feb 26, 2026

NORWALK — When it’s over, it will go down in history as the most expensive race for a U.S. Senate seat ever. For all intent and purpose, the fall campaign is already underway.

“I’m fed up watching Ohioans get left behind again and again and again. Every time Jon Husted has a chance to fight for Ohio, he lets us down,” former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown tells an audience in a recent tabletop social media post. “He put billionaires first when he voted against releasing the Epstein files just a few weeks after accepting a maximum campaign contribution from an Epstein coconspirator.”

Husted, appointed in January 2025 to replace Vice President J.D. Vance, hasn’t found a campaign footing as hardened as Brown’s. Brown—a former Secretary of State and three-term Senator who narrowly lost to Bernie Moreno in 2024—is running on a “broken promise” narrative. Meanwhile, Husted, who spent six years “hiding in plain view” as Lieutenant Governor, seems to be on autopilot. His office has become a black hole; he doesn’t respond to calls, and his staff ignores inquiries.

While Brown aggressively attacks Husted’s record on healthcare and insider trading, Husted’s campaign feels more like a tourism reel. “Small businesses are the backbone of America,” his team announced Monday after a stop in Ashville. But the “backbone” was tested last week in Norwalk when Sandusky Register reporter Terry Burton asked Husted about donations from billionaire Les Wexner.

Wexner, the retail mogul behind The Limited, was a primary benefactor for Jeffrey Epstein. Federal records show that Husted accepted the $6,600 maximum individual contribution from Wexner just prior to the Senate vote on the Epstein files.

Huron County Commissioner Harry Brady claimed Burton was “rude” during the exchange, but there’s no evidence to support that. Within hours of the confrontation, the Husted campaign scrambled, announcing to some news outlets it would return Wexner’s donation. Press secretary Jess Andrews has yet to confirm the exact amount returned or which charities—if any—received the diverted funds.

The outcome of this special election in November won’t just decide Ohio’s voice; it determines the balance of power for the 119th Congress and the trajectory of the Trump administration in 2027.