Democrat Sherrod Brown defeated Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio's special U.S. Senate election Nov. 3, the Associated Press projected, according to WLWT and NPR.

The outcome sends Brown back to Washington two years after he lost his seat to Republican Bernie Moreno. Voters across Hamilton, Clermont and Warren counties, which include Loveland, Symmes Township and Milford, cast ballots in the race. WLWT tracked results for Clermont County and Warren County on election night.

The source article reported unofficial results with 87% of the vote counted showing Brown with 2,017,362 votes (48.6%) to Husted's 1,928,646 (46.5%). Libertarian Bill Redpath received 117,715 votes (2.8%) and independent Greg Levy received 84,287 (2.0%).

Brown becomes the seventh former U.S. senator since 1946 to lose a seat and later return to the chamber, NPR reported.

What it means locally

Brown will serve the remaining two years of Vice President JD Vance's term, which expires in January 2029. He must run again in 2028 to keep the seat.

The Nov. 3 special election was required after Vance resigned his Senate seat to become vice president in January 2025. Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted, then Ohio's lieutenant governor, to fill the vacancy.

A costly race

Advertising spending and reservations topped $500 million before the final week, according to political advertising analytics company AdImpact, as NBC4 reported. Only two other nonpresidential races had crossed that threshold: Ohio's 2024 Senate election and the 2026 Senate race in Texas.

Brown far outraised Husted. His campaign reported $68.4 million in receipts through Oct. 14, compared with $19.9 million for Husted's campaign, according to NBC4. Republican outside groups spent tens of millions opposing Brown.

The cryptocurrency industry spent about $54 million supporting Husted, Spectrum News 1 reported, topping the $40 million it spent in 2024 to help defeat Brown. Elon Musk funneled more than $7 million to independent groups seeking to help Husted, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.

Key issues

Data centers, affordability and health care costs dominated the campaign. Brown called Husted "the face of data centers" in Ohio because of his involvement promoting such projects as lieutenant governor, according to NPR. A leaked National Republican Senatorial Committee memo described data centers as "the anchor hanging around Husted's neck," the Ohio Capital Journal reported. NPR noted it had not independently confirmed the memo's authenticity.

Husted emphasized job creation, tax reductions and the expanded Child Tax Credit in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act. He also introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would have required state utility commissions to consider making data centers pay for their own energy use, according to 10TV. That bill passed the House but not the Senate.

Brown, 73, served in the U.S. Senate from 2007 to 2025 and previously held seats in the U.S. House, as Ohio secretary of state and in the Ohio House. Husted, 59, served as Ohio House speaker, secretary of state and lieutenant governor before DeWine appointed him to the Senate in January 2025.

The seat returns to the ballot in 2028 for a full six-year term.