U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is seeking his fourth term in one of the most expensive campaigns in the country, as Republicans fight to flip the Senate. He's opposed by former car dealer Bernie Moreno, the political newcomer endorsed by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who won Ohio in 2016 and 2020.
Brown has been traveling the state in a big, blue bus emblazoned with his name. On this day, he’s wearing a khaki shirt and khaki pants as he speaks to a crowd of supporters at a fundraiser on a farm in Delaware County, a traditionally red area but one that has been leaning more toward purple. Brown notes the county passed last year's constitutional amendment legalizing abortion in Ohio by 18 points.
Even so, you won’t find Brown campaigning with top Democrats, even though he’s been endorsed by them and groups that supports them. In fact, some ads supporting Brown mention he worked with Trump on fentanyl legislation and with Trump’s running mate, Ohio US Sen. JD Vance, on a rail bill after the East Palestine derailment. Brown says he’s focusing on bipartisanship.
"I don’t think about politics as left or right. I think about what side you are on," Brown said. He said he is on the side of hard-working Ohioans.
Immigration
Immigration has been a key issue in this campaign, though Ohio isn't near the southern border.
Brown has said he wants more resources on the border. He backed a bill on immigration and foreign aid that many Republicans had also supported. That was until Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has made immigration a key campaign issue, blasted the bill earlier this year. That led Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other GOP senators to kill it.
“Presidents of both parties have failed at immigration. Congress needs to do its job,” Brown said in a video of a campaign event posted on Instagram. “We had a chance to pass a bipartisan bill written and negotiated by a very conservative Republican, an independent and a Democrat, and endorsed by the border patrol agents’ union, generally a pretty conservative union, and saying that this is what we need to do to protect the border.”
Government and the economy
Corporate greed is a theme for Brown. And he uses that issue against his opponent, former car dealership owner Bernie Moreno, who’s been successfully sued by former employees for wage theft.
On the campaign trail, Brown talks about his co-sponsorship of the CHIPS Act, to send funding to technology companies like Intel to make more computer chips in the U.S., and the PACT Act, which helps military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.
“Already 40,000 Ohioans have gotten care coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan," Brown said.
Brown also touted his bill to crack down on he calls “predatory investing” by cutting tax breaks for big companies that buy large numbers of affordable homes, sometimes sight unseen.
"Many families work to save for years to buy a home and they end up getting outbid over and over by outside investors and they simply can't compete with Wall Street predator money. These companies jack up rent, they neglect repairs and they threaten families with eviction," Brown said.
Abortion
One of the issues Brown has hit the hardest is his support for abortion rights. Moreno, who has gone on record as supporting a national abortion ban, told an audience at a campaign event that he thought it was “a little crazy” that women over 50 cared so much about abortion rights. That leaked video made it into a Brown ad and to Instagram, where he shared his thoughts.
“I don’t think people should joke about women’s health. He (Moreno) also said that he’s 100% pro-life with no exceptions for rape or incest or the health of the woman. That’s not a joking matter. I think that he has been on the wrong side of this issue," Brown said.
Other issues in this race
The stakes are high for Brown. His seat is one of those that has been heavily targeted nationally. “There’s never been more money spent against somebody in a U.S. Senate race in the history of the country," Brown said.
The campaign finance tracking group Open Secrets reported Brown has spent $86 million on his campaign and Moreno spent $21 million. The group also estimates nearly $260 million of outside money has been spent in this race so far, most of it against Brown.
"They're trying to take me out because I fight for the middle class and fight for workers, fight for families and take on their interest group friends on Wall Street," Brown said.
