Democrat Sherrod Brown has been out of the Senate for nearly two years, but a large chunk of Ohio voters think he’s still there.
That’s proving to be a significant boon for Mr. Brown, who, after losing his reelection in 2024, is seeking to win Ohio’s other U.S. Senate seat in this year’s election.
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A Bowling Green State University survey conducted this month found 25% of likely voters still thought Mr. Brown was in office. The rest properly identified Sen. Jon Husted, the Republican seeking to fend off Mr. Brown.
Mr. Husted has served since last year, when he was appointed to fill the seat left vacant when J.D. Vance became vice president. Before that, he was Ohio’s lieutenant governor.
Mr. Brown, meanwhile, served three terms as senator, maintaining a liberal record in a state that had been trending Republican for years.
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This year’s contest in Ohio is the second most expensive in the country, trailing only Texas, according to OpenSecrets.org, which tracks campaign spending.
A cryptocurrency political action committee, Fairshake, has announced it will spend $30 million to stop Mr. Brown, who opposes legislation backed by President Trump that would create national regulations for the cryptocurrency industry.
Fairshake spent more than $40 million in 2024 to defeat Mr. Brown, who was chairman of the Senate Banking Committee at the time.
The RealClearPolitics average of polls shows Mr. Husted with a 4-point lead in the race.
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