Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown has prevailed in one of the year’s most combative and expensive Senate races, beating Republican incumbent Jon Husted, NBC News projects.
\n\nBrown, who lost his bid for a fourth term in 2024, will return to the Senate and serve the remaining two years of the six-year term JD Vance won in 2022 and left after he was elected vice president.
\n\nRepublican Gov. Mike DeWine apointed Husted, the state’s former lieutenant governor, to fill the Vance vacancy last year.
\n\nThe win cements Brown, 73, as the most successful Democrat in Ohio over the last three decades. For Husted, 59, defeat presents an uncertain future for a long-tenured officeholder.
\n\nThe race brought an onslaught of negative TV ads. Their clash also mirrored a national climate that exposed Republican vulnerabilities on issues such as the war with Iran, a related rise in gas prices and broader concerns about the economy and affordability. And worries over data center construction for AI companies hit particularly hard in Ohio.
\n\nIn the race’s closing weeks, an ad in Ohio’s other marquee race — the battle for governor — raised concerns that backlash against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy could hurt Husted. Ramaswamy’s campaign had…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health