Ohio voters will select from two proven veteran politicians when they vote in the U.S. Senate race on or before Nov. 3.
And their choice may decide whether Democrats flip control of the Senate and gain more ability to hold a deeply unpopular president accountable.
The incumbent, Republican Sen. Jon Husted, was appointed to the role in 2025 after former Sen. JD Vance became vice president. His challenger is a familiar name, former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost his seat in 2024 when Republican Bernie Moreno rode President Trump’s coattails to a resounding victory.
The winner will serve for just two years and would again face voters in 2028 if he wants a full six-year term.
Loyal Republicans can find plenty of reasons to support Husted, including
his six years as Ohio’s lieutenant governor and long career of public service, a solid track record of supporting Ohio’s resurgence in business development and support for Trump’s agenda.
If Husted can accurately be labeled as pro-business, Brown offers a strong voice for workers and everyday citizens he says have fewer opportunities in an economy where rich companies get too many handouts. He also would provide a strong voice and firm vote against Trump’s brazen corruption.
Both candidates know our state well and are good at pulling the levers of bureaucracy to help Ohioans. Unfortunately, neither has agreed to debate this fall.
So, how should a moderate or undecided voter evaluate the candidates? Well, for starters don’t consume any of the awful, alarming and largely inaccurate advertisements about both men. They and their supporters have spent more than $400 million to win your vote, proving the importance of this close race.
Instead, here are our thoughts on the candidates and why we think there is only one choice for Ohio and the United States.
Reasons to support Brown
Brown’s belief that America’s economic system is rigged in favor of billionaires and big business at the expense of average citizens appears to be connecting more this year with voters disillusioned by inflation, the Iran War and health care costs.
He notes the average CEO in America makes roughly 300 times more than the average worker.
“You can't have a productive economy with that big a gulf between the top paid people and sort of everybody else,” he told our editorial board.
Brown specifically calls out health insurers for collecting premiums and denying coverage far too often.
That doesn’t mean Brown is anti-business. He’s capable of working with business interests to achieve success.
Among his bi-partisan accomplishments, Brown noted he worked with Trump to re-negotiate the NAFTA trade dealwith more protections for workers. He also worked with former Republican Sen. Rob Portman and Vance to advance Ohio’s interests, including vital transportation funding.
Brown also believes in voter rights, saying he would strongly oppose Trump’s awful SAVE Act, which Husted verbally supported.
On data centers, Brown opposes tax breaks for tech companies and wants to make sure they pay for their own electricity without driving up consumer rates and mitigating noise, water and other community concerns.
Brown positions himself as a strong alternative to a Republican voting in lockstep with Trump. He would vote to end the Iran war, work to end Trump’s tariffs paid for by Americans and support restoration of a Biden-era child tax credit.
Husted’s pros and cons
If you believe the government’s role is to create the proper atmosphere for businesses to thrive and get out of the way, Husted should be well positioned to gain your support.
CNBC recently named Ohio as its top-rated state for business, a recognition Husted can rightly claim some credit for, especially given his help in landing Intel’s delayed chip foundry near Columbus.
But there appears to be a major disconnect between the rating and the public’s view of Ohio’s economy. There’s also serious anger about generous tax deals Ohio has given businesses, especially data centers proliferating across the state. The public is upset, with 72% in a recent poll saying they opposed tax breaks for data centers.
It’s a troubling conundrum for Republicans in this mid-term election, although Husted told us policies enacted by Ohio Republicans saved a state that was “dying” decades ago. He said Ohio employers are now paying a near record number of employees with record low unemployment.
There’s no doubt Husted knows how to leverage government and can help lead economic development efforts, citing the state’s development deals with Intel, Bayer, Amgen and Anduril among others for major jobs projects.
In our meeting with Husted, he blamed Brown and former President Joe Biden for the affordability crisis, including liberal efforts to reduce American energy production. And he complained Senate Democrats blocked a bill he co-sponsored to ensure data centers pay for their own electricity.
Husted distanced himself from data centers mushrooming across Ohio, saying the industry has done “a terrible job” communicating its value and local governments make decisions on building new centers.
Husted also tried to downplay his role in Ohio's biggest corruption scheme ever, wrongly implying he was a small player in getting House Bill 6 passed for FirstEnergy. Although never accused of criminal conduct, he was forced to testify at the trial of former company executives.
Our endorsement
There could be a time where we would endorse Husted.
But our top concern this year has been the abject failure of Republicans in Congress to stop visible corruption and abuse of power by the Trump Administration.
Congress functions as one-third of America’s vital system of checks and balances, with the legislative and judicial branch serving as guardrails for our president.
Republicans have become almost entirely spineless in opposing Trump’s brazen use the government as a weapon against his opponents and a resource to self-aggrandize himself and his friends.
The list of examples is far too long but includes attempts to bribe voters with cash payments if Republicans win, initial use of tax dollars for advertisements praising himself, the ongoing Kennedy Center debacle and numerous other schemes.
Trump’s corruption in plain sight far surpasses anything he questionably accused Biden of committing. One can only imagine how Republicans would be howling if Biden behaved this poorly.
Add Trump’s unpopular Iran War, which Husted has supported, and it’s clear why 60% of Ohio voters disapprove of Trump’s job performance.
While we suspect Husted privately disagrees with Trump on many fronts, he’s failed to make that clear with his voting record or rhetoric. And he stood by Trump’s policy positions in our interview, including Trump's decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, a move his former boss, Gov. DeWine, has strongly criticized.
As noted earlier, Husted even pushed for the SAVE Act designed to further undermine confidence in American elections and help Republicans. It’s a bill he once would have strongly opposed.
We also don’t agree with Brown on all issues, but we know he brings a genuine voice of the people, extensive experience helping Ohioans and a willingness to hold the powerful accountable without engaging in our destructive culture wars.
We endorse Sen. Sherrod Brown’s return to Congress.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: This career politician has failed Ohioans. That's why The Dispatch endorses his rival for Senate
