Sherrod Brown Defeats Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio Special Election, Projected Winner

Democrat Sherrod Brown was projected the winner of Ohio's special U.S. Senate election on Tuesday, defeating Republican Sen. Jon Husted and returning to the chamber two years after he lost his seat. Newsweek reported that CNN called the race at 11:01 p.m. ET with 88 percent of the vote counted and Brown at 48.5 percent to Husted's 46.6 percent; the Daily Wire reported that Decision Desk HQ called it at 11:15 p.m. Eastern with 84 percent counted. Brown, a three-term senator from 2007 to 2025, lost to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024. Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted in January 2025 to the seat JD Vance vacated to become vice president. Brown will serve through January 2029, finishing Vance's six-year term. The seat is in a state Trump carried by about 11 points in 2024. Newsweek said Democrats had also flipped seats in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, New Hampshire and Texas. In his victory speech Brown said Ohio is not for sale, and Husted conceded and thanked supporters.

Left-leaning HuffPost leads with Brown's return and frames the win around Republican headwinds, citing rising gas prices and Trump's falling approval. It details Brown's attacks on Husted over the Medicaid cuts in Trump's budget bill, the Epstein files vote, the Iran war and data centers. It also highlights Trump's comments praising Husted's physique at rallies. The right-leaning Daily Wire, by contrast, titles its piece around Brown taking back Vance's seat and calls it a massive flip. It stresses the Trump-state margin, its effect on Senate control, Brown being the first Ohio Democrat to win a partisan statewide race since 2018, and polling that showed Husted trailing since June. It does not mention the budget bill, Epstein files or Trump's remarks in the excerpt. Both sides agree on the winner, appointment history and the term length. Newsweek's alternative coverage largely tracks the facts but adds quotes from both candidates.