One reason Republicans gained control of the Senate in 2024 was Bernie Moreno, who defeated longtime incumbent Sherrod Brown (pictured below) to flip a key seat for the Republicans.
But with J.D. Vance becoming vice president, and his Ohio senate seat empty, Gov. Mike DeWine chose Jon Husted, Ohio’s lieutenant governor, to be Vance’s replacement. That sets up a special election next year that is being closely watched.
Tom Zawistowski, president of the We the People Convention, predicts Democrats will come hard for the seat occupied by Husted.
“They're going to throw $50 million dollars at it,” he says, “and see if they can beat John Husted.”
Who will challenge Husted? Brown, the former senator, is eyeing a comeback but has not announced he is running, according to a Hill story published last week.
Husted, who will be running his first campaign for a U.S. Senate seat, is a seasoned Ohio politician. He has served as a state representative, state senator, secretary of state, and finally lieutenant governor.
In his upset victory, Moreno defeated Brown 50%-46% last November.
In the same election, Ohioans chose Donald Trump over Kamala Harris 55%-44%. That official vote total represented about 372,700 more votes for the GOP presidential candidate than the GOP senate candidate.
The Hill story suggests Brown's re-election campaign got swamped with Trump supporters last November. A midterm election, with lower turnout, could fare better for the Democrat, a political strategist told The Hill.
“It’s going to be a battle and they're going to spend a lot of money,” Zawistowski says, “but I still think we will win in the end."
