david skolnick
Democrat Sherrod Brown has not held public office for the first time in 32 years.
Fifty years ago, Mr. Brown was first elected to the state Assembly in 1974, and served in the state for 48 years, including eight years and eight more years as Ohio Secretary of State.
After losing reelection, Brown remained out of public office for two years before winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992.
Ohio is a solidly Republican state, but is there a place for a 72-year-old progressive populist Democrat who has spent nearly his entire adult life in politics?
“This is my last floor speech of the year,” Brown said on Dec. 17. “But I promise it’s not the last you’ll hear from me.”
Republican Mike DeWine made a remarkable political comeback when he was elected attorney general in 2010 and governor eight years later. DeWine has held more public offices than Brown, starting with his first election as Greene County prosecutor in 1976, serving in the state senate, U.S. House of Representatives, lieutenant governor, and serving in the Senate for 12 years. He lost to Brown in 2016.
But the political landscape in Ohio is now very different, and even DeWine, a traditional conservative Republican, is not aligned closely with President-elect Donald Trump and is at times at odds with the party’s mainstream. .
So, will Mr. Brown be able to return to politics? Does he want to try it too?
The next elections for U.S. Senate seats and statewide executive branch positions will be held in 2026.
If Mr. Brown chooses to run for the Senate, it will depend on whether Mr. Trump remains popular in Ohio, a state he won in three consecutive presidential elections. It will also depend on who DeWine chooses to replace Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, who will vacate his Senate seat before the Jan. 20 inauguration.
If his successor is a strong candidate, or just a competent one, and Mr. Trump’s policies continue to resonate with Ohio voters, Mr. Brown will have a very difficult time winning next year’s Senate race. You will face challenges.
Even if Mr. Brown were to choose that path, his chances of success in the gubernatorial race would likely be even lower. Mr. DeWine will not be able to run for re-election next year, and several Republicans with statewide recognition, although not on Mr. Brown’s level, have been floated to succeed him.
Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted appeared to be a surefire candidate for governor, but he may decide to appoint a senator. Mr. DeWine has already endorsed Mr. Husted as a candidate for governor, so if the lieutenant governor wants the Senate seat instead, all he would likely have to do is ask.
Mr. DeWine and Mr. Husted met with Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance in mid-December, presumably to discuss the lieutenant governor’s appointment in the Senate.
A number of other Republicans are also interested in Senate races, but there is no guarantee that whoever is chosen will not be an opponent in the 2026 primary.
DeWine stressed that whoever he chooses must be strong enough to withstand such challenges from within the party.
Republican Bernie Moreno, who defeated Brown to win the Senate seat, will be officially sworn in today, making the political newcomer Ohio’s senior senator.
Whoever Mr. DeWine chooses to replace Mr. Vance will join him as a junior senator.
Hopefully, Mr. Moreno and Mr. Vance’s successors will be able to serve in the Ohio House of Representatives in the same way as Mr. Brown and Republican Rob Portman, who will retire in 2022 after 12 years on the job.
Vance has only spent two years in the Senate and was on the campaign trail in late 2024, giving him an incomplete record as a senator.
For 18 years, Brown traveled frequently around the state, visiting the Mahoning Valley once or twice a month. While Portman was a senator, he traveled frequently around the state, visiting the area six to eight times a year.
Other than a tour of Youngstown Air Reserve Base in Vienna two weeks into his term, and a few trips to East Palestine simply because of a horrific train derailment, Mr. Vance rarely came to the Valley. . I can’t recall Vance making a single public visit to Mahoning County during his two years as a senator. He also made frequent stops in other parts of the state.
Skolnick covers politics for the Tribune-Chronicle and the Vindicator.
