Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said he will run in 2026 to return to the U.S. Senate.
Brown, a Democrat, had served three terms in the U.S. Senate before being defeated by Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno last November.
Brown will face newly appointed U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, Ohio's former lieutenant governor, next November. And if Brown wins next year, he would have to run again in 2028 to fulfill a full six-year term.
When making his announcement, Brown said he hadn't intended to run for office. But he said he doesn't like what he's seen in Washington D.C. for the past eight months.
"Because for the past eight months all they’ve done is made things worse for Ohioans, handing over your hard-earned money to corporations and billionaires. Their reckless tariffs and economic chaos are increasing prices and threatening the survival of small businesses across our state. Instead of lowering the cost of health care, they’re raising drug prices on seniors and kicking 490,000 hardworking Ohioans off their coverage. And they increased the deficit by more than 3 trillion dollars, all while giving billionaires the largest tax cut in American history."
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 said he believes he can "stop the craziness" and get things done for Ohio.
Brown's campaign has a familiar theme
Brown is pledging to fight for workers in a system that he said benefits corporations and billionaires at the expense of hardworking Ohioans.
In previous campaigns, Brown has focused on issues facing working Ohioans and has used a slogan, "Dignity of Work."
In March, Brown founded a think tank known as the "Dignity of Work Institute." Brown said the non-profit, non-partisan think tank is "dedicated to the people who make this country work, and to creating an economy and a society where Americans’ work is valued."
And he said the organization's mission is to put the interests of workers at the center of the country's politics and to be an engine for national policy change.
Some thought Brown might run for governor
After living in the Cleveland area for decades, Brown moved to Central Ohio earlier this year. That fueled speculation that he might jump into the governor's race in 2026.
Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic former Ohio Health Department Director, is already in the race for governor next year. Acton served as the health director during the early days of the COVID pandemic.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican tech entrepreneur who ran in an unsuccessful bid for president, is also running for governor in 2026. Ramaswamy has been endorsed by President Trump.
Response to Brown's announcement
Tyson Shepard, communications director for the Jon Husted for Senate campaign, lambasts Brown said, "For 30 years, he has imposed Washington’s problems on Ohio, pushing radical liberal policies that have left a lasting burden on the next generation."
Shepard said the challenges the nation faces are the same ones Husted has helped our state confront and overcome, championing the values he learned growing up in northwest Ohio: hard work, personal responsibility, family, faith, freedom and patriotism.
