The Associated Press called the race just after 11 p.m. ET Tuesday: former Sen. Sherrod Brown has defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio’s special U.S. Senate election, completing a political comeback two years after voters ended his 18-year Senate tenure.

With about 88% of the expected vote counted, Brown led roughly 48.6% to 46.5% — about 2,052,000 votes to 1,956,000 — per the AP. Brown is the seventh former U.S. senator since 1946 to lose a Senate seat and later return to the chamber.

The contest was a special election to fill the remainder of the term J.D. Vance won in 2022 before resigning to become vice president. The term ends January 3, 2029, so Brown would have to run again in 2028 to keep the seat.

Husted, 59, the former lieutenant governor, secretary of state and state House speaker, was appointed to the seat by Gov. Mike DeWine in January 2025. The race became one of the most expensive Senate contests in American history, drawing more than $500 million in ad spending, according to AdImpact.

The stakes were national: Republicans hold a 53–47 Senate majority, and Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to take control.

These are projections from the AP, CNN and NBC News and are unofficial until county boards certify the results.

For Toledo, Lucas County’s votes factored into the statewide count. Brown previously held the Senate seat Ohio voters sent him to for 18 years, from 2007 to 2025, before his 2024 loss to Bernie Moreno.

Sources: Associated Press | Reuters | Signal Ohio | The Columbus Dispatch

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons.