Brown holds narrow lead over Husted in Ohio Senate race
Democrat Sherrod Brown leads Republican Sen. Jon Husted 49% to 46% among likely voters in a new New York Times/Siena poll of Ohio. A Suffolk poll found a similar three-point edge. The race could help decide which party controls the Senate after the Nov. 3 midterms.
Ohio's Senate race is close, and Democrats see it as one of their best chances to flip a seat. A New York Times/Siena College poll taken Sept. 22 to Oct. 1 found former Sen. Sherrod Brown at 49% and Republican Sen. Jon Husted at 46% among likely voters, the Washington Examiner reported. A Suffolk University poll showed Brown ahead 47% to 44%, inside its margin of error of 4.4 points. An InsiderAdvantage survey had the race even tighter, with Brown up by one.
The Times poll also found voters trusted Brown more, by 10 points, on artificial intelligence and data centers. That issue has become local in Ohio, where large new server farms are pushing up demand for power.
President Trump stepped into the race on Saturday. At a rally at Butler High School in Vandalia, near Dayton, he campaigned for Husted and for Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for governor. Former NFL coach Jon Gruden also appeared. Trump defended data centers, saying the country "can't turn them off or they go to China," and he backed Husted's Ratepayer Protection Act, which aims to keep tech companies from passing their power costs on to households, according to Spectrum News and The Hill.
Some history helps explain the stakes. Brown served three terms in the Senate before losing in 2024 to Republican Bernie Moreno. Gov. Mike DeWine then appointed Husted, his lieutenant governor, to fill the seat JD Vance left when he became vice president. This fall's special election decides who serves the rest of that term.
Ohio has leaned Republican in recent statewide races, and Trump carried the state three times. A Brown win would cut into the Republican Senate majority and force the party to defend seats elsewhere.
Election Day is Nov. 3, and both campaigns are now spending heavily on TV ads.
What we know: Recent polls show Brown slightly ahead, within the margin of error.
What we don't: Whether Trump's visit and data-center politics shift late-deciding voters.
Where outlets agree The Washington Examiner and Political Wire both report that the New York Times/Siena poll shows Brown ahead of Husted 49% to 46% among likely Ohio voters.
Where they differ Republicans argue Trump's backing and Ohio's red lean will carry Husted, while Democrats point to Brown's steady lead and his edge on data-center costs.