The other critical race in Ohio is for the Senate seat formerly held by J.D. Vance; Jon Husted, an unremarkable normie Republican, was appointed to it by Governor DeWine. The challenger is Sherrod Brown, a rumpled economic populist who held the other Ohio Senate seat until he was defeated by a car salesman in 2024. What should we expect from this race?
Brown was a protectionist before protectionism was cool, so his position on Trump’s tariffs will have to be somewhat nuanced. That’s a negative. Ohio is also a scarlet state at this point, which doesn’t help, either. The Iran war, however, will help him. He is also an experienced campaigner who knows better than any other Democrat how to push the buttons of Ohio voters. He ran well ahead of Harris in 2024.
This race will probably be determined by the extent of the swing against Trump. At this point, I would call it a toss-up.