U.S. Senate in Ohio (special)
U.S. Senate · Ohio
Sherrod Brown flipped the seat for Democrats, winning by 4.9 points over Jon Husted.
Source: Ohio Secretary of State unofficial resultsUpdated Nov 7, 2026, 12:46 PM ET
Where the race moved
Against the 2024 presidential vote
Every county, 2024 to 2026
Each dot is a county, sized by votes cast and colored by who carried it in 2026. Dots above the line moved toward Brown compared with the 2024 presidential vote; 88 of 88 did. The largest shift among the bigger counties: Scioto, +22.5 points.
Source: civicAPI county results (unofficial); 2024 president: MEDSL precinct returnsUpdated Nov 7, 2026, 1:34 PM ET
The seat's recent races
Source: Past results: 99chambers results archive (MEDSL, Klarner, state election offices)
By county
Show 80 more
Bar: share of the state's vote. Shift: change in margin from the 2024 presidential vote, + toward Democrats.
Source: civicAPI county results (unofficial); 2024 president: MEDSL precinct returnsUpdated Nov 7, 2026, 1:34 PM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two sides on one scale: their campaigns, and outside groups spending for them or against their opponent.
Top funders
Outside groups and direct contributors, ranked by what they put in; the color shows which candidate it helps.
| WinSenateFor Brown, against Husted | $87.4M | |
| DEFEND AMERICAN JOBSFor Husted, against Brown | $56.6M | |
| NO GOING BACK PAC INC.For Husted, against Brown | $28.7M | |
| Americans for Prosperity Action, Inc. (AFP Action) DBA CVA Action and DBA LIBRE ActionFor Husted, against Brown | $23.9M | |
| Duty and CountryAgainst Husted | $13.9M | |
| SLF PACAgainst Brown | $12.4M | |
| Lower Costs NowAgainst Husted | $9.5M | |
| OHIO FLYER PACAgainst Brown | $8.3M | |
| Defend The VoteAgainst Husted | $7.1M | |
| America PACAgainst Brown | $6.9M | |
| LCV Victory FundAgainst Husted | $5.9M | |
| 75 PACAgainst Brown | $4.7M |
Show 4 more
Campaign money: FEC, through Oct 14, 2026; FEC, through Oct 22, 2026. Outside spending: independent expenditures by super PACs, parties and other groups, primary and general, as reported to the FEC through Nov 1, 2026, updated Nov 3, 2026. It leaves out spending not reported as independent expenditures (most issue ads and much dark money), so it understates all outside money. The FEC lists only each candidate's largest spenders; totals count every spender.
Source: FEC campaign filings; FEC independent expendituresUpdated Nov 3, 2026, 1:05 AM ET
Polls against the result
The final average had Brown ahead by 2.5. Brown won by 4.9: a 2.4-point miss toward Republicans.
- Poll with Brown ahead
- Poll with Husted ahead
- Final polling average
- Result
| Pollster | Dates | Sample | Brown | Husted | Margin | Adjusted | Miss vs result | Grade | Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Co. | Oct 30–Nov 1 | 450 LV | 45 | 44 | D+1 | — | −3.9 | A | researchco.ca ↗ |
| The New York Times/Siena University | Oct 26–Nov 1 | 717 LV | 49.3 | 43.7 | D+5.6 | D+5.3 | +0.7 | A | nytimes.com ↗ |
| Emerson College for Poll Vault | Oct 31–Nov 1 | 930 LV | 45.8 | 48.3 | R+2.5 | R+2.1 | −7.4 | A+ | pollvault.substack.com ↗ |
| AtlasIntel | Oct 28–Nov 1 | 1,801 LV | 51.4 | 43.9 | D+7.5 | D+5.0 | +2.6 | A | pollstergraph.com ↗ |
| Survey 160Main question · in average | Oct 27–Nov 1 | 1,122 LV | 50 | 46 | D+4 | — | −0.9 | — | survey160.com ↗ |
| Survey 160Main question | Oct 27–Nov 1 | 1,159 RV | 50 | 45 | D+5 | — | +0.1 | — | survey160.com ↗ |
| Trafalgar GroupR-sponsored | Oct 31–Nov 1 | 1,092 LV | 46.6 | 45.1 | D+1.5 | D+3.9 | −3.4 | B | thetrafalgargroup.org ↗ |
| ActiVote | Oct 18–Oct 31 | 400 LV | 50.2 | 49.8 | D+0.4 | — | −4.5 | A− | activote.net ↗ |
| InsiderAdvantage | Oct 29–Oct 30 | 1,200 LV | 48.8 | 47 | D+1.8 | D+3.1 | −3.1 | B | insideradvantage.com ↗ |
| YouGov | Oct 26–Oct 29 | 2,084 LV | 50 | 48 | D+2 | D+1.3 | −2.9 | B | d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net ↗ |
| Suffolk University for USA Today | Oct 21–Oct 26 | 500 LV | 46.6 | 43.8 | D+2.8 | — | −2.1 | A | suffolk.edu ↗ |
| Concord Public Opinion Partners for Education Reform Now AdvocacyD-sponsored | Oct 22–Oct 24 | 469 LV | 46 | 42 | D+4 | — | −0.9 | B− | concordpublicopinionpartners.org ↗ |
| Echelon Insights for NetChoice | Oct 16–Oct 23 | 508 LV | 47 | 47 | Even | — | −4.9 | A | netchoice.org ↗ |
| InsiderAdvantage | Oct 21–Oct 22 | 1,200 LV | 46.7 | 44.4 | D+2.3 | — | −2.6 | B | insideradvantage.com ↗ |
| Verasight for VoteHubfield: Brown, Levy, Redpath, Husted · in average | Oct 1–Oct 20 | 531 LV | 47.5 | 43.6 | D+3.9 | — | −1.0 | — | votehub.com ↗ |
| Verasight for VoteHubfield: Brown, Levy, Redpath, Husted | Oct 1–Oct 20 | 535 RV | 45.7 | 43.8 | D+1.9 | — | −3.0 | — | votehub.com ↗ |
| Beacon Research/Shaw & Company Research for Fox NewsMain question | Oct 15–Oct 19 | 2,005 RV | 53 | 46 | D+7 | — | +2.1 | B+ | foxnews.com ↗ |
| Beacon Research/Shaw & Company Research for Fox NewsMain question · in average | Oct 15–Oct 19 | 1,592 LV | 52 | 47 | D+5 | — | +0.1 | B+ | foxnews.com ↗ |
| ActiVote | Sep 26–Oct 18 | 400 LV | 49.8 | 50.2 | R+0.4 | — | −5.3 | A− | activote.net ↗ |
| Marist UniversityMain question · in average | Oct 15–Oct 18 | 1,176 LV | 48 | 44 | D+4 | — | −0.9 | B+ | maristpoll.marist.edu ↗ |
| Marist UniversityMain question | Oct 15–Oct 18 | 1,176 RV | 51 | 42 | D+9 | — | +4.1 | B+ | maristpoll.marist.edu ↗ |
| GS Strategy Group for New River Strategies; Cook Political Report | Oct 9–Oct 13 | 959 LV | 49 | 43 | D+6 | — | +1.1 | B | cookpolitical.com ↗ |
| YouGov for Bowling Green State University Democracy and Public Policy Research Network | Sep 29–Oct 9 | 1,000 LV | 48 | 42 | D+6 | — | +1.1 | B | scholarworks.bgsu.edu ↗ |
| co/efficientfield: Brown, Levy, Redpath, Husted | Oct 5–Oct 6 | 925 LV | 43 | 44 | R+1 | — | −5.9 | B+ | battlegrounds.coefficient.org ↗ |
| co/efficientMain question · in average | Oct 5–Oct 6 | 925 LV | 45 | 46 | R+1 | — | −5.9 | B+ | battlegrounds.coefficient.org ↗ |
| SSRS for CNN | Sep 29–Oct 5 | 760 LV | 49 | 43 | D+6 | — | +1.1 | C | edition.cnn.com ↗ |
| The New York Times/Siena University | Sep 22–Oct 1 | 616 LV | 48.76 | 46.09 | D+2.7 | — | −2.2 | A | nytimes.com ↗ |
| YouGov | Sep 18–Sep 30 | 3,777 LV | 49 | 45 | D+4 | — | −0.9 | B | d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net ↗ |
| InsiderAdvantage | Sep 28–Sep 29 | 1,200 LV | 43.8 | 42.5 | D+1.3 | — | −3.6 | B | insideradvantage.com ↗ |
| Big Data Poll for Public Polling ProjectMain question · in average | Sep 26–Sep 27 | 680 LV | 46.3 | 42.6 | D+3.7 | — | −1.2 | C | bigdatapoll.com ↗ |
| Big Data Poll for Public Polling ProjectMain question | Sep 26–Sep 27 | 735 RV | 45.2 | 41.2 | D+4 | — | −0.9 | C | bigdatapoll.com ↗ |
| Marist University | Sep 24–Sep 27 | 1,298 RV | 51 | 43 | D+8 | — | +3.1 | B+ | maristpoll.marist.edu ↗ |
| Suffolk University for USA Today | Sep 23–Sep 27 | 500 LV | 46.6 | 44 | D+2.6 | — | −2.3 | A | suffolk.edu ↗ |
| Quantus Insightsfield: Brown, Levy, Redpath, Husted | Sep 21–Sep 23 | 695 LV | 47.3 | 46.8 | D+0.5 | — | −4.4 | — | quantusinsights.org ↗ |
| Quantus InsightsMain question · in average | Sep 21–Sep 23 | 695 LV | 47.6 | 47.2 | D+0.4 | — | −4.5 | — | quantusinsights.org ↗ |
| Trafalgar GroupR-sponsored | Sep 14–Sep 16 | 1,085 LV | 45.4 | 41.5 | D+3.9 | — | −1.0 | B | thetrafalgargroup.org ↗ |
| YouGov for Bowling Green State University | Sep 1–Sep 10 | 1,000 LV | 48 | 45 | D+3 | — | −1.9 | B | drive.google.com ↗ |
| InsiderAdvantage | Sep 8–Sep 9 | 1,200 LV | 47.3 | 41.9 | D+5.4 | — | +0.5 | B | insideradvantage.com ↗ |
| Concord Public Opinion Partners for Education Reform Now AdvocacyD-sponsored | Aug 29–Aug 31 | 504 LV | 50 | 40 | D+10 | — | +5.1 | B− | concordpublicopinionpartners.org ↗ |
| Abacus DataMain question · in average | Aug 26–Aug 28 | 306 LV | 46 | 41 | D+5 | — | +0.1 | — | abacusdata.ca ↗ |
Adjusted: after correcting for the pollster's house effect and likely-voter screens. Miss: the poll's margin minus the result; + means the poll leaned Democratic. Grade: the pollster's accuracy in past elections, A+ to D (pollster ratings).
Source: Each poll's release, via The New York Times and Wikipedia poll listsUpdated Nov 1, 2026
Pre-election forecast (final, Nov 3)
Our model's last run before Election Day, Nov 3, 2026. It no longer updates.
- Sherrod Brown
- 69%
- Jon Husted
- 31%
- Projected margin
- D+2.5
The candidates
Former U.S. senator (2007–2025)Jon Husted (R)
Incumbent U.S. senator (2025–present)
Also on the ballot: William B. Redpath (Libertarian), 2.8%; Greg Levy (Other party), 2.1%; Stephen Faris (Other party), 0.0%; Anthony Holliman (Other party), 0.0%; Timothy Telymonde (Other party), 0.0%
Also on this ballot here
| Governor | D+7.9 |
| Attorney General | D+0.6 |
| Secretary of State | D+3.5 |
| Treasurer | D+1.1 |
| Auditor | R+1.6 |
Results within this state. Source: Results and race calls: Ohio Secretary of State (unofficial)Updated Nov 7, 2026, 12:46 PM ET