Sherrod Brown seeks Ohio Senate seat in 2026 comeback bid

Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is running to reclaim Ohio's U.S. Senate seat as a Democrat in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.

Brown launched his campaign in August 2025, according to Politico, after losing the seat in 2024 to Republican Bernie Moreno by fewer than 4 percentage points. The race is for the rest of an unexpired term, according to BallotReady election data. Brown is certified for the ballot and faces Republican Jon Husted, Independent Greg Levy and Libertarian William B. Redpath.

Brown has not returned the Village Press candidate questionnaire. The information below is drawn from his campaign website, public records and BallotReady profile data.

Candidate information

Party: Democratic
Office sought: U.S. Senate, Ohio
Election date: Nov. 3, 2026
Hometown: Mansfield, Ohio (born and raised there, according to his campaign website)
Family: Married to Connie Schultz; describes himself as a grandfather, father and husband, according to his campaign's X account
Education: High school diploma, Mansfield Senior High School (1970); bachelor's degree in Russian studies, Yale University (1974); master's degree in education, The Ohio State University (1979); master's degree in public administration, The Ohio State University (1981), according to BallotReady

Experience and public service

Brown has held elected office in Ohio for decades, according to BallotReady profile data and Politico:

Ohio House of Representatives, District 61 (1975–1982)
Ohio secretary of state (1983–1991)
U.S. House of Representatives, District 13 (1993–2007)
U.S. Senate (2006–2025), including service as chair of the Senate Banking Committee (2021–2025)

On the issues

The following positions are stated on Brown's campaign website. They represent the candidate's own claims.

Healthcare: Brown says he wants to ban health insurance companies from denying care a doctor prescribes and fine insurers who deny claims. He also says he wants to make it illegal for drug companies to charge Americans more than they charge in other countries.

Utility costs and energy: Brown says he is fighting to cap how much utility companies can raise rates. He also says he wants to require data centers to pay the full cost of their utilities so residential bills do not increase, and that communities should decide whether data centers are built locally.

Trade and jobs: Brown says he has opposed unfair trade deals that shipped Ohio jobs overseas, according to his campaign website, and that he led opposition against NAFTA.

Congressional ethics: Brown says no member of Congress, or their spouse, should be allowed to trade stocks, and that former members should not be allowed to become lobbyists.