Former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (left) and U.S. Senator Jon Husted (right). (Photos from WEWS)
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown raised more than twice as much as incumbent Republican Sen. Jon Husted from April to June, according to financial data from both campaigns.
Congressional candidates must file several financial disclosures during the year in which they are elected. Reports for the second quarter of 2026 were due on July 15.
Brown’s campaign announced direct donations of $14.1 million in the second quarter and an additional $3 million from an affiliated PAC. The Husted campaign saw $3.4 million in direct donations and $4.3 million from three affiliated PACs.
“Ohioans across the state are fed up with Jon Husted, who repeatedly prioritizes corporations, billionaires and special interests at the expense of hardworking families,” said Patrick Eisenhauer, Brown’s campaign manager.
In a press release, the Husted campaign touted its results as the largest second-quarter fundraising total ever posted by a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Ohio.
This is the third consecutive U.S. Senate election in Ohio in which the Democratic candidate’s early summer fundraising was significantly greater than that of his Republican opponent. Former Ohio State Rep. Tim Ryan outperformed current Vice President J.D. Vance by USD 6.8 million from April to June 2022, and Brown outperformed incumbent U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno by $6 million from April to June 2024.
Both elections ended with Democratic losses at the ballot box. The 2024 race has become the most exorbitant non-presidential election in American history, and although Brown more than tripled Moreno’s campaign spending, Republican groups still outspent Democratic groups by more than $75 million.
A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court will also strengthen the role of political parties in supporting campaigns this election cycle. Ruling in the Ohio case brought by Vance, in a 6-3 decision, the court established spending limits for political parties in coordination with specific candidates.
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Expenses
This time, Brown spent more than $11.5 million on advertising in the second quarter. Some internal advertisements touted his position health care AND Congress Stock TradingAND three ads tried to link Husted to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Brown also released trio advertising in data centers in July.
While Brown raised about $4.3 million more than it did in the second quarter of 2024, it was also more frugal, spending more than $2.5 million less on advertising. At the end of June, the former three-term senator declared that he had $16.2 million in cash at his disposal.
Meanwhile, Husted’s campaign generated more than five times Moreno’s ad spending during the same period in 2024. His main committee, Husted for Senate, paid for his first TV ad of the series in slow April. Two May ads attacking Brown’s congressional record came from the Husted Victory secondary committee.
His campaign reported more than $11 million in cash, more than double Moreno’s June 2024 cash balance.
These two campaigns aren’t the only groups with money in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race. Outside groups have already pledged to spend more than $174 million on the race AdImpact expects total spending to reach $749 million until election day.
The Republican-backed Senate Leadership Fund has already spent $700,000 on this year’s race and plans to spend a total of $79 million. The Democratic-backed Senate Majority PAC has committed $64 million to the race.
Most of the outside spending in the second quarter came from two Republican super PACs. Americans for Prosperity Action, Inc., a super PAC financed by Republican megadonor Charles Koch, has spent more than $3.1 million since April.
Ohio Flyer PAC paid more than $445,000 for April “The Party’s Over” advertising aimed at Brown’s record in Congress, part of more than $1.6 million in ad spending in the second quarter. The super PAC is dedicated solely to supporting Husted’s election candidacy, and its name refers to Husted’s time playing on the University of Dayton football team.
Fundraising
Ohio Flyer PAC received its largest second-quarter donation from A Public Voice, Inc., a Virginia-based gloomy money group that has given millions to Republican super PACs in the previous elections.
Nonprofit organizations like A Public Voice, Inc. do not have to disclose their donors. A Public Voice, Inc. has a history in U.S. Senate races in Ohio: she has donated $315,000 super PAC that opposed Brown in 2018and donated $850,000 to super PAC-backed Republican Sen. Jane Timken, who is running in the 2022 primary.
Brian Colleran, CEO of an Ohio nursing home chain, and Chevron also made six-figure contributions to Ohio Flyer PAC. A super PAC can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, but cannot directly coordinate with a candidate’s campaign committee.
The Husted campaign received the largest donations in the second quarter, including a total of $637,200 from two Jane Street Capital executives through Husted Victory. Quantitative trading firm Jane Street has made some progress recently artificial intelligence AND data centers.
His campaign was also approved a total of $69,750 in smaller donations from the political action committees of utilities such as American Electric Power and Duke Energy, as well as technology companies such as Oracle and Meta.
Other prominent Husted donors include Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, who regularly contribute to Republican campaigns. During the second quarter, Cleveland Browns executives and Haslam family members gave a total of $292,000 to Husted.
Only one person donated more than $50,000 to a committee affiliated with Brown’s campaign in the second quarter: Joe Kanfer, former CEO of Akron-based hand sanitizer maker Purell. Brown received most of his largest individual donations through the Ohio Grassroots Victory Fund affiliate committee.
James McClave, another Jane Street trader who donated millions to a gloomy money group who supported former President Joe Biden in 2024, donated $7,000 to Brown’s campaign committee.
McClave was also an early investor in artificial intelligence giant Anthropic spending millions on artificial intelligence regulation. Anthropic general counsel Jeff Bleich contributed $20,500 to Brown’s campaign committees during the second quarter.
Brown reported more than $5.1 million in donations through the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue, and Husted contributed $500,000 from Republican counterpart WinRed. According to a press release, the former senator made more than 135,000 donations in the second quarter, including nearly 70,000 first-time donors.
The next deadline for congressional candidates to submit financial reports is October 15.
