EXCLUSIVE — Fans at Saturday’s Ohio State–Texas football game who plan to enjoy tailgates, music, and a battle between two powerhouse teams will also get a front-row seat to a political ad blitz from Senate Republicans targeting former Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
The Senate Leadership Fund, Senate Republicans’ top super PAC, is targeting Brown in a six-figure campaign that will premiere during the noon football game on Saturday, one of the first of the 2026 college football season.
As part of the campaign, there will be planes with banners that say “OH-NO to Sherrod Brown. Don’t let Ohio Go Blue!” Mobile billboards running versions of an ad launched Aug. 15 will circle Ohio Stadium, and digital billboards shared first with the Washington Examiner will greet drivers as they enter Columbus, Ohio.
“Sherrod Brown spent decades selling out Ohioans while pushing the radical left’s playbook of amnesty for criminal illegal immigrants, higher taxes for seniors, and even supporting men in girls’ locker rooms,” Senate Leadership Fund communications director Chris Gustafson said in a statement. “Sherrod Brown can’t take a hint, but Senator Jon Husted is working hard for Ohio families and delivering President Trump’s agenda.”
Brown announced his comeback bid for the Senate on Aug. 18, setting up a heated race between the former senator and Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), who was appointed to fill the seat left vacant by Vice President JD Vance.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) visited Brown in the months prior to the former senator launching his official campaign, one of several Democrats who urged Brown to get back in the race.
The ousted senator lost to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) in 2024 in one of the most competitive Senate races of the cycle, costing Brown the seat he had held since 2007. Husted’s seat is rated “lean Republican” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, and a recent Emerson College poll found Brown trailing Husted by 6 percentage points, 50%-44%.
Husted was appointed to fill Vance’s seat in January, so the election in 2026 would be a special election to finish out the remainder of Vance’s term. If Brown were to flip the seat blue, he would face another test much sooner than some of his Senate colleagues in 2028, when the seat comes up for a full six-year term.
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Ohio has trended red in recent years. But in a midterm cycle when President Donald Trump is not on the ballot, the Democratic Party sees an opening to flip the House and make gains in the Senate.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Brown for comment.