Ohio will be at the center of U.S. elections this November − and not because it’s a battleground in the presidential race .
Instead, all eyes are watching Sen. Sherrod Brown’s campaign to secure a fourth term and head off Republican attempts to regain control of the U.S. Senate. This is a different kind of election for Brown: Ohio is no longer the bellwether it once was, and he’s one of two Democratic senators defending a state former President Donald Trump carried in 2020.
The race has been quiet since Republican businessman Bernie Moreno won the March primary with the backing of Trump. Only occasional ads − largely from Brown’s campaign − have littered the airwaves during local news and Jeopardy.
All of that’s about to change. The campaigns are starting to ramp up public appearances as outside groups prepare to spend at least $200 million in advertising. And both candidates have already gone on the attack.
“I know that it’s a competitive state,” Brown said. “It’s an increasingly difficult state. But I spent my career fighting for the dignity of work. I don’t ask somebody, ‘Are you a Trump voter? Are you a Biden voter?’ I talk to them about their lives, about their work, about how I can help work alongside them so they can get better paying jobs.”