COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown made clear during a farewell speech Tuesday that he does not plan to abandon his career-long fight for American workers despite suffering a bitter defeat last month in Ohio, where it’s become nearly impossible for his party to win statewide elections.
“This is my last speech on the floor this year, but it is not, I promise you, the last time you will hear from me,” the 72-year-old Brown said in his signature gravelly voice, after thanking staff and family members who watched in the Senate chamber. He at times fought back tears.
It was a telling remark, given Brown’s high political profile in his native Ohio. The state’s political observers are already floating his name as a possible contender for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican JD Vance, the vice president-elect, or for the governorship. Both offices are up for grabs in 2026.
Brown said only that he would return to Ohio in January as “a private citizen” and that people who love the country “fight for the people who make it work every day.”