Sherrod Brown to Launch Senate Comeback Bid In Major Boost to Dems: Report

Former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is reportedly set to announce he’s running for the U.S. Senate again in 2026, launching a comeback after losing his seat in 2024, according to Axios.

Brown is widely viewed as the Democrats’ best chance to be competitive in Ohio next November. Axios scooped last month that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “has been in hot pursuit of Brown, visiting him last month in Ohio to encourage him to run.”

Brown will be running in the special election to fill Vice President JD Vance’s senate seat, which is currently held by Sen. John Husted (R-OH) — who was appointed to the vacant seat following Vance’s resignation.

Brown lost his 2024 re-election bid by just over 3.5 points to now Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), despite Trump winning Ohio by over 11 points — the widest margin of victory in the state since 1984.

Brown is the latest recruiting score for the Democrats, who also managed to get former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to run for the open U.S. Senate seat in the state. Cooper, a former two-term governor who has won six statewide races in the state, was also viewed as the best chance the Democrats have in flipping the seat held by retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).

This is a developing story and has been updated.