OH-SEN: Cook Political Report shifts Ohio Senate race after Sherrod Brown entrance
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved its rating of Ohio’s Senate race from likely Republican to lean Republican following former Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-Ohio) entrance into next year’s Senate race.
The former senator launched his comeback Senate bid Monday, pitting himself against incumbent Sen. John Husted (R). Husted was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine (R) earlier this year after Vice President Vance vacated the seat to join the Trump administration.
Brown, who served three terms in the Senate, lost reelection in November to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R) by roughly 3.5 percentage points. He was the last statewide elected Democrat in Ohio.
“Brown’s entrance certainly puts the Ohio Senate special election on the competitive map, and it’s doubtful that any other Democrat would have made this a real race,” wrote Jessica Taylor, Senate and governors editor at the Cook Political Report. “But Husted still starts as a slight favorite in a state that’s been moving toward the right. We are shifting our rating from Likely to Lean Republican.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5458092-ohio-senate-race-brown-husted/