Former three-term U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, a Yale-educated son of Mansfield, Ohio, is one of American politics' most distinctive voices, who never stopped sounding like the workers he grew up around. After winning nearly 90-percent of the vote in May 2026 Democratic primary, he is now the Democratic nominee in in the Nov. 3 special election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated when JD Vance became vice president. Brown built a reputation as a tenacious fighter for working families in a state that has grown increasingly difficult for Democrats — a testament to the power of an authentic, issues-driven brand.

Brown’s political career began at 22, when he became one of the youngest people ever elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. He went on to serve as Ohio Secretary of State, then spent 14 years representing Ohio's 13th Congressional district in the U.S. House before winning his Senate seat in 2006. Along the way, he became a vocal opponent of trade deals like NAFTA and CAFTA that he believed hollowed out Ohio's manufacturing base — a conviction rooted in what he watched happen to his hometown. He lives in Columbus with his wife Connie Schultz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author.

In the Senate, Brown chaired the powerful Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and served on the Finance, Veterans' Affairs, and Agriculture committees. He authored the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act, restoring full Social Security benefits to more than 2 million retired teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public workers who had been shortchanged for decades. He helped pass the PACT Act, delivering healthcare to veterans sickened by burn pit exposure. He fought to cap insulin at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare. Brown is back because he believes Ohio workers need a champion in Washington — and because the moment demands it.