Sherrod Brown Wins Ohio Democratic Senate Nomination for 2026 Special Election

Former longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio won his party's nomination for the 2026 Senate race on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

Brown, who served three decades in Congress before losing re-election in 2024 to now-GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno, will face Republican Sen. Jon Husted in the general election. Husted, Ohio's former lieutenant governor, was appointed to replace Vice President JD Vance.

The winner will serve the final two years of Vance's Senate term. Vance won election to the Senate in 2022 but resigned after he and President Donald Trump took the 2024 presidential and vice presidential contest.

Vance returned to his home state Tuesday morning and voted at a polling station in Cincinnati during the primary.

Ohio's Senate race stands among a few that will determine whether Republicans hold their slim majority or Democrats regain control for the first time in four years. Republicans now control the Senate 53-47.

Brown beat long-shot challenger Ron Kincaid, an IT professional and Special Olympics coach, to claim the Democratic nomination. Husted ran unopposed for the Republican nod.

Ohio, once a key general election battleground, has moved rightward over the past decade. Trump won the state by 11 points in 2024. Still, this year's Senate and governor races figure to stay competitive.