Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio launched a comeback campaign on Monday, taking on GOP Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed this year to fill the seat vacated when JD Vance was elected vice president.
In his video announcement, the Democrat claimed to have had no intention of running again, but was urged to do so because of how much "worse" things are getting.
“I didn’t plan to run for office again, but when I see what’s going on, I know I can do something about it for Ohio,” Brown says in the video. “That’s why I’m running for Senate.”
“I spent my career, as you know, taking on interest groups and taking on this rigged system,” he added. “And the system has been rigged for as long as I remember, but it’s clearly gotten worse.”
Standing up for workers. Treating everyone with dignity and respect. Working as hard as possible for the people of Ohio.
— Sherrod Brown (@SherrodBrown) August 18, 2025
I've tried to live my life by those principles. But these days that's not what's happening in Washington—so I'm running for Senate. pic.twitter.com/RukX9yxTQi
Brown’s decision comes less than a year after losing to Republican Bernie Moreno, who defeated the former three-term senator 50.1 percent to 46.5 percent during the 2024 election that saw Donald Trump take Ohio by 11 points.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand praised his entrance into the race, saying "Sherrod will always do what’s right for Ohioans," whether it's "securing Ohioans’ retirement and Social Security benefits to cracking down on fentanyl from China and Mexico."
Tyson Shepard, a spokesperson for the Husted campaign, said the choice for Ohioans is now clear.
“For 30 years, [Brown] has imposed Washington’s problems on Ohio, pushing radical liberal policies that have left a lasting burden on the next generation,” Shepard said in a statement to NBC News. “Jon Husted offers the opposite approach, applying Ohio’s values and solutions to fix a broken Washington.”