Former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown launched a comeback campaign on Monday as polls suggest Republican Ohio Senator Jon Husted has an early lead. Tyson Shepard, Husted's communications director, wrote in a statement that Husted offers "Ohio's values and solutions to fix a broken Washington."

The announcement from Brown, a former three-term senator, bolsters Democrats’ long-shot hopes of flipping back the Senate in the 2026 elections. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber, with Democrats’ strongest opportunities appearing to be in Maine and North Carolina.

It was widely believed that Brown would be running for governor of Ohio, but was lobbied by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to instead take on Husted as Democrats will battle to take back control of the Senate in next year's midterm elections.