Sherrod Brown Is Reportedly Planning a Senate Bid

Former Sen. Sherrod Brown will attempt a comeback bid for Senate in Ohio next year, according to multiple news outlets. It’s a major recruiting win for Democrats as they try to piece together a long-shot effort to win majority control of the chamber in the midterm elections.

Brown is expected to avoid a serious primary and will likely face Republican Sen. Jon Husted in next year’s race, one of the marquee Senate contests of 2026. Husted was appointed to the seat this year to fill a vacancy left by Vice President JD Vance.

News of Brown’s entrance to the race was first reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He has not yet publicly confirmed he will run next year.

Brown was seen by many Democrats as the likeliest candidate to put the conservative-trending Ohio into play next year, making him arguably its most sought-after recruit of the election cycle.

But Brown, who served in the Senate from 2007 to 2025, also lost a hard-fought reelection fight just last year, failing by 4 percentage points to Republican Bernie Moreno.

Democrats need to gain a net of four seats in 2026 to win a majority. In addition to Ohio, the party has targeted GOP-held seats in Maine, Texas, Iowa and North Carolina. Democrats recently got a boost in those efforts when former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper entered the race.

Senate Republicans, however, are also on offense next cycle, focusing on Democratic-held seats in Georgia and Michigan.