Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, wins return to US Senate

What the report says

Democrat Sherrod Brown has won back a US Senate seat in Ohio, according to Associated Press projections cited by Al Jazeera, defeating Republican incumbent Jon Husted in a closely watched race. The result marks Brown’s return to the Senate two years after he lost his previous seat, and it dealt Republicans a setback in a contest seen as important to the balance of power in the chamber.

Al Jazeera reported that the Ohio race drew exceptional spending, with more than $500 million poured into advertising. The article said outside money, including from US tech companies, flowed into efforts to oppose Brown, making the campaign one of the most expensive in the 2026 midterm cycle and among the priciest non-presidential races in US history.

Husted, who was appointed in early 2025 to fill the seat previously held by Vice President JD Vance, had aligned himself with President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda. Brown, by contrast, emphasized his ties to labor unions and working-class voters in a state shaped by industrial decline and economic strain.

Brown will complete the remainder of Vance’s term, which runs until January 2029. The race also highlighted how cost-of-living concerns remained a major political issue in the Midwest, where Democrats and Republicans have both focused on voters in former manufacturing centers and rural communities.