Sherrod Brown has decided to run for Senate in Ohio in 2026, according to two people familiar with his thinking, making a play for his old job just months after he was beaten by Republican Bernie Moreno last November.

The Democrat will face off against Sen. Jon Husted, whom Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed to the Senate after JD Vance left his seat to become vice president.

Brown was a top recruit for Senate Democratic leaders in their uphill battle to reclaim the majority in the upper chamber in 2026. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, and survived two hard-fought reelection campaigns, even as Ohio’s status as a Republican state only crystallized. In 2018, he bested Republican Jim Renacci by a nearly seven point margin, even though President Donald Trump won the state two years prior. In 2024, Moreno won by more than 200,000 votes.

Brown is the only major Democrat to run for the seat, and will likely clear the primary field.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer first reported Brown’s plans. The two people familiar with Brown’s thinking spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss his not-yet-public decision.

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