Seeking to make a return to the U.S. Senate, former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) decisively defeated Ron Kincaid in the Democratic primary on May 5.
Brown, who lost his Senate seat to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024, had 91.9 percent of the vote compared to 8.1 percent for Kincaid at 8:37 p.m., according to The Associated Press, which called the race in Brown’s favor.
Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who was unopposed in the GOP primary, will meet Brown in the Nov. 3 midterm election to fill the remaining two years of the Senate term vacated by Vice President JD Vance.
Husted was appointed to the seat in January 2025 by Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. He has said he will attempt to win the special election and then run for a full term in 2028.
Their race is one of a handful in the U.S. Senate that are likely to determine whether Republicans maintain a majority in the chamber in November’s midterm elections.
Republicans have a super-majority in the state Legislature and occupy the governor, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, and treasurer offices. The party also occupies 10 out of the state’s 15 Congressional spots.
Republicans currently have a 53-47 majority in the Senate. Democrats are hopeful that the war in Iran, high gas prices, and concerns about the economy will help them reclaim control of the chamber in November.
Husted, 58, previously served as DeWine's lieutenant governor after stints as a state representative, state senator, and secretary of state in Ohio.
Brown's "economic populism may be uniquely suited to this moment when affordability concerns are paramount," according to Cook Political Report.
Conducted from April 7 to April 14, Bowling Green’s poll indicated that 55 percent of respondents in Ohio said they consider themselves part of Trump's MAGA movement. Husted is endorsed by Trump, who won Ohio in all three presidential elections.