He will be challenged by former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown anti-transgender Republican Senator Jon Husted this fall in a special election NBC News called one of the “most expensive and significant in the country”.
Brown, who won the primary with a majority vote over newcomer Ron Kincaid, is vying for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Vice President J.D. Vance last year.
Earlier this year, Brown received major support from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the world’s largest and most influential LGBTQ+ rights group. However, he also faced backlash from LGBTQ+ leaders after: 2024 campaign advertising that paint transgender Ohioans in an unfavorable delicate.
Brown is gaining LGBTQ+ support
HRC Vice President Lynne Bowman issued a statement of support following Brown’s victory.
“This fall, voters have a clear choice between more of the same failed policies that hurt all Ohioans and equity advocates like Sherrod Brown who have real solutions to the cost of living and health care access crisis,” Bowman said.
“Jon Husted represents a tired old party that voted against marriage equality and uses anti-LGBTQ+ repression to distract from its moral bankruptcy and lack of results,” she added.
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand also released a statement in support of Brown.
“Sherrod Brown is a trusted leader of Ohio families who has spent his career advocating for workers and delivering real results for Ohioans,” Gillibrand said. “While Sherrod spent his career fighting for the people of Ohio, Jon Husted sided with corporations and billionaires on behalf of hardworking Ohio families…”
Declining support for transgender rights
In Ohio, LGBTQ+ rights groups are putting more aggressive pressure on Brown over his stance on transgender rights and other pro-LGBTQ+ policies.
In 2024, Brown lost the U.S. Senate seat he had held for 18 years Republican opponent Bernie Moreno. During the controversial campaign, LGBTQ+ leaders criticized Brown for: ad he released in response to Moreno.
Moreno’s campaign aired a series of ads attacking Brown for his pro-transgender views. Instead of using forceful language to defend transgender Ohioans, Brown backed down.
In advertisementBrown said the vote to support transgender girls and women in women’s sports is “a complete lie.” He also suggested that transgender athletes’ participation in sports should be left to states and individual sports leagues.
Both LGBTQ+ nation AND freelance journalist Erin Reed suggested that Brown’s comments may signal: bigger shift among Democrats when it comes to public opinion support for the rights of transgender people – particularly in terms of access to gender-affirming healthcare and participation in sports.
In 2023, Brown said reporters from WSYX believes that “decisions about children’s health care are made between them, their parents, their families and their doctors, not politicians,” but generally remains reticent on the issue of gender-affirming health care for transgender Ohioans.
Executive director of a transgender support group TransOhio Dara Adkison called Brown’s ad “anti-trans.”
“In 2024, both Brown and Moreno ran disgusting anti-trans ads. We hope that in 2026, both Brown and Husted can focus on the issues affecting Ohioans that need attention, not transphobic bigotry,” Adkison told The Buckeye Flame. “Transgender people in Ohio would like to be left alone to run our lives.” 🔥
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