Former Ohio senator Sherrod Brown has decided to seek a return to the U.S. Senate in the November 2026 special election, according to multiple Democratic strategists and Ohio labor leaders he briefed on his plans. The race will determine who completes the final two years of the term vacated when JD Vance became vice president and Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Republican Jon Husted to the seat in January. An official announcement is expected within the next two weeks. Brown’s entry immediately elevates the Ohio contest to the top tier of Democratic targets as the party looks to flip four seats and reclaim the Senate majority in 2027. Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved its rating of the race to Lean Republican from Likely Republican, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee circulated a memo projecting confidence that Husted—backed by former president Donald Trump—can defeat Brown. The 72-year-old Democrat lost his seat in 2024 by about four percentage points to now-Sen. Bernie Moreno despite outperforming his party’s presidential nominee. The recruitment coup follows Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s summer overtures to Brown and signals broader Democratic efforts to expand the 2026 map. In Iowa, state representative and two-time Paralympic gold medallist Josh Turek became the fifth major Democrat to enter the race against Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, underscoring the party’s willingness to contest seats in traditionally red territory.