Jon Husted and Sherrod Brown set for Senate showdown after Ohio primary victories

Republican senator Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown won their party’s nominations in Ohio ’s primary elections on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press – teeing them up for what is expected to be a high-profile and expensive Senate race in November’s midterm elections. Husted ran unopposed, while Brown had a single opponent who he handily outraised. The veteran politicians are standing in a special election to be decided in the 3 November midterms that will determine who serves the remainder of the six-year term JD Vance won in 2022, before becoming vice-president last year. Husted was appointed by Mike DeWine, Ohio’s Republican governor, to take over for Vance, while Brown, a former three-term senator, is seeking to make a comeback after losing his re-election bid in 2024. Ohio’s Senate seat is one of four that Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic minority leader, has prioritized in the party’s bid to retake control of the chamber, which appeared to be a long shot after Donald Trump won election two years ago, but seems increasingly attainable as the president’s approval ratings slump. The main Senate Republican Super Pac has announced plans to spend $79m in Ohio, and Democratic-aligned groups are expected to do the same. …