Sherrod Brown beat Senator Jon Husted 50.0% to 45.2% in Ohio's Senate special election on NBC's projection, and Amy Acton took the governorship.
Sherrod Brown beat Senator Jon Husted 50.0% to 45.2% in Ohio's Senate special election, a vote to fill the rest of a vacated term, and NBC projected the seat as a Democratic flip1. Brown had outraised Husted six to one in the third quarter but ended it with less cash in hand.
On the same ballot Amy Acton took Ohio's governorship from the Republicans2. Ohio was one of three states, with Georgia and Nevada, where Democrats flipped a governor's office on 3 November.
Ohio held a special election for a US Senate seat left empty when JD Vance became vice-president in 2025. The governor appointed Republican Jon Husted to fill it until this vote. Democrat Sherrod Brown, who represented Ohio in the Senate from 2007 until he lost in 2024, won it back. Ohio also elected a Democratic governor, Amy Acton, replacing a Republican.
The seat was on the ballot as a special election because its elected holder, JD Vance, left the Senate to become vice-president. Husted, appointed in his place, had to win the rest of the term in a midterm year that ran against his party.
Outside groups filed $44.10m in Ohio's Senate race in a single week in September, so neither candidate depended on his own cash alone.
Brown serves the remainder of the term, so the seat is on the ballot again sooner than a full six-year term would allow.
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.