U.S. Sen. Jon Husted officially filed signatures for his candidacy with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office Friday.
Husted, who Gov. Mike DeWine sent to the U.S. Senate in January to fill an Ohio seat left vacant by Vice President JD Vance, is seeking to hold it longer than his initial term ending next year.
Months out from his first statewide election in years, Husted said Friday morning he feels well-situated to win.
“Sherrod Brown just spent $300 million on his election around a year ago and lost by over 200,000 votes,” Husted said. “(Brown is) probably as well known as anybody in the history of Ohio politics, but he’s been there for 50 years, he was in Washington for 32 years, and the voters just sent him home.”
The money former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, raised and spent in the 2024 cycle broke state records.
Brown has yet to file for the race, but the deadline isn’t until February. In an email Friday afternoon, Brown’s team hit Husted for recent votes against extending health care subsidies.
“Instead of lowering costs and protecting Ohioans’ health care, Jon Husted has repeatedly shown that he will put billionaires and corporate special interests first,” Brown said. “Ohioans are ready to hold him accountable.”
Though he’s only been in the Senate a short time, Husted has served in elected office since 2000, rising through the ranks at the Ohio Statehouse, to most recently serving as DeWine’s lieutenant governor.
Still, he said he has his work cut out for him when it comes to voters unfamiliar with him, referencing a recent Emerson Poll measuring his name ID.
“Having everybody know you as somebody that’s been around forever is not exactly an asset,” Husted said. “If you look inside that data, you’ll see that all of those people are mostly Republicans who will vote for the Republican.”
Whoever wins will have to run for reelection in 2028 for a full six-year term.
