Just one year ago, U.S. Sen. Jon Husted was mulling a major decision: whether to abandon his seemingly inevitable run for governor and take a Senate seat 400 miles away.
Now the former lieutenant governor, who Gov. Mike DeWine elevated in January to fill the role left vacant by Vice President JD Vance, is seeking to hold it longer than his initial term ending in 2026.
“It’s been a challenge, admittedly,” Husted told the Statehouse News Bureau in an interview in December. “Washington D.C. is not as friendly as Columbus is. You are dealing with different issues, a frantic schedule, a lot of travel, so I think it’s a harder job.”
Months out from his first statewide election in years, he said he feels well-situated to win.
He wants to situate himself as the “Ohio guy” to former Sen. Sherrod Brown’s “D.C. guy,” although Husted is the one working from Washington these days.
Brown, a Democrat, announced his run for Senate in August following his loss to U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno in November 2024. Heading into Election Day, that race was one of the tightest and costliest in the country.
He said in an interview with the Statehouse News Bureau he could not sit on the sidelines and watch the GOP-led Senate vote on issues like taxes and health care. “I will fight to undo all of those terrible decisions made in the last year,” Brown said.
Husted often touts but always defends the administration’s major agenda items, like the One Big Beautiful Bill and the double-digit tariffs on items coming from other countries.
“We’ve got to hold (China) accountable, but at the same time, when they retaliate, sometimes that makes it hard on American consumers, Husted said of tariffs. “I think we’re going to get this worked out. We have to stand strong.”
President Donald Trump isn’t on the ballot this November, but Husted said he and Vance will still “work hard for our team.”
Whoever wins in 2026 would have to run for reelection in 2028 for a six-year term.
