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2026 United States Senate special election in Ohio
The 2026 United States Senate special election in Ohio was held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Ohio. Democratic former senator Sherrod Brown defeated Republican appointee Jon Husted. Brown will complete the term won in 2022 by JD Vance, who resigned in 2025 to become vice president.
Seeking to keep the seat after his appointment, Husted ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Brown, who represented Ohio in the Senate for three terms until his defeat in 2024, won the Democratic nomination against minimal opposition.
Brown ended up winning the election, completing his comeback bid for a Senate seat.
Background
After voting for President Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012, Ohio has trended increasingly Republican in subsequent years and is now considered a moderate to strong red state at the federal and state level. Republicans control all statewide offices, supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature, and hold both Senate seats. Republicans also have a majority of the state's House delegation, with ten seats compared to five for Democrats.
Republican nominee Donald Trump won Ohio in 2016 and 2020 by 8 percentage points, and in 2024 grew his margin to 11 percentage points. Additionally, Republican JD Vance, now the vice president of the United States, defeated Democrat Tim Ryan in the 2022 U.S. Senate election by slightly over 6 points, while Republican Bernie Moreno defeated then-incumbent Sherrod Brown in the 2024 U.S. Senate election by slightly over 3.5 points.
Interim appointment
According to Ohio law, if a U.S. Senate seat becomes vacant, the governor appoints a replacement who serves until December 15 following the next regularly scheduled statewide election that occurs more than 180 days after the vacancy. A special election to fill the remainder of the term is then held concurrently with that regular state election, which in this case would be the one on November 3, 2026. Governor Mike DeWine chose then-Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted to replace Vance in the Senate.
Appointee
Jon Husted, lieutenant governor of Ohio (2019–2025)
Considered but not appointed
Matt Dolan, former state senator from the 24th district (2017–2024) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022 and 2024
Frank LaRose, Ohio secretary of state (2019–present) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024
Vivek Ramaswamy, former CEO of Roivant Sciences (2014–2023) and candidate for president in 2024
Jane Timken, former chair of the Ohio Republican Party (2017–2021) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022
Declined to be considered
Mike DeWine, governor of Ohio (2019–present) and former U.S. senator (1995–2007)
Dave Yost, Ohio attorney general (2019–2026) (ran for governor, later withdrew)
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
Jon Husted, incumbent U.S. senator (2025–present)
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Sherrod Brown, former U.S. senator (2007–2025)
Eliminated in primary
Ron Kincaid, IT professional and Special Olympics coach
Withdrawn
Lynnea Lau, research integrity executive
Fred Ode, venture capital executive
Dakota Rose, community activist
Chris Volpe, tech entrepreneur
Declined
Shontel Brown, U.S. representative from Ohio's 11th congressional district (2021–present) (running for re-election)
Greg Landsman, U.S. representative from Ohio's 1st congressional district (2023–present) (running for re-election)
Tim Ryan, former U.S. representative from Ohio's 13th congressional district (2003–2023), nominee for U.S. Senate in 2022, and candidate for president in 2020
Emilia Sykes, U.S. representative from Ohio's 13th congressional district (2023–present) (running for re-election)
Casey Weinstein, state senator from the 28th district (2025–present)
Fundraising
Italics indicate a withdrawn candidate.
Libertarian primary
Former Libertarian National Committee chair William Redpath is running as a Libertarian. Health care consultant Jeffrey Kanter was disqualified from the Libertarian primary due to a protest by Ohio Libertarian Kristen Wichers, who demonstrated that Kanter submitted hundreds of invalid signatures with his candidate petition.
Candidates
Nominee
Bill Redpath, former Libertarian National Committee chair and nominee for 2022 United States Senate election in Illinois
Disqualified
Jeffrey Kanter, healthcare consultant
Other third-party and independent candidates
Greg Levy, a veteran and community organiser, announced his candidacy in October 2025. A member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), he filed with the Federal Election Commission as an independent candidate. Levy is one of two PSL candidates standing in the 2026 U.S. Senate elections, the other being Joe Tache in Massachusetts.
General election
Data centers have become a major issue in the campaign, and a poll from Bowling Green State University showed 71% of Ohioans support a temporary ban on new construction of data centers. Brown has criticized Husted for his support of data centers in the past. As lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2025, Husted backed millions of dollars in tax breaks for data center construction projects in Ohio. Husted has defended data centers, saying they bring new jobs and money to rural areas. Husted has described data centers as a "local issue", and Brown has said that the approval of data centers should be decided on the local level.
A September 2026 poll conducted by Bowling Green State University found that 25% of likely Ohio voters incorrectly believed Sherrod Brown was the incumbent U.S. senator from the state, despite him having lost re-election in 2024.
The election was the subject of widespread election interference by Russia, with a goal of favoring Jon Husted.
Polling
Aggregate polls