Nov 3 (Reuters) – Democrat Sherrod Brown won Ohio’s special US Senate election on Tuesday, according to US media projections, ousting Republican incumbent Jon Husted and boosting his party’s chances of winning a majority in the chamber.
Brown’s victory marked a comeback two years after losing his Senate seat and showed that Democrats could still win statewide in Ohio, where Republicans have become dominant since Trump’s political rise in 2016.
His 2024 loss to Republican Senator Bernie Moreno ended Brown’s 18-year tenure in the Senate.
Husted was appointed to the Senate by Republican Governor Mike DeWine in January 2025 to replace JD Vance after he became vice president. The special election was to determine who serves the remainder of Vance’s term, through January 3, 2029.
Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate. In Tuesday’s nationwide midterm elections, Democrats must score a net gain of four seats to win control of the chamber beginning in January.
President Donald Trump endorsed Husted and campaigned with him in the closing weeks of the campaign. At a time when 78% of Americans blame Trump for the high cost of living, the president campaigned in Ohio to help energize Republicans’ base of voters who otherwise might have sat out the election.
Former President Barack Obama appeared in campaign ads for Brown.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Michael Learmonth and Howard Goller)
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