The attempted comeback of former Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in the Buckeye State looks to be an uphill battle.
A new Emerson College poll shows incumbent Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, leading Brown 50% to 44%, with 7% of voters undecided.
Brown served three terms as senator before he was defeated for reelection in 2024. The 72-year-old is running for Ohio's other senate seat against Husted, the former lieutenant governor who was appointed to the seat after Vice President JD Vance ascended to his current role. Brown, a progressive, had considered running for governor before announcing his senate candidacy.
The poll found 44% of voters have a favorable opinion of Brown compared to 42% unfavorable, while 33% had a favorable opinion of Husted compared to 28% unfavorable. More voters know Brown than Husted, with only 14% having a neutral or unfamiliar opinion of Brown compared to 40% having a neutral or unfamiliar opinion of Husted.
Husted has a 16-point lead over Brown among male voters and voters without a college degree and a 14-point lead among voters over 40, the poll found.
Brown has a 13-point lead among voters under 40, a three-point lead with women voters and an eight-point lead among independent voters.
Brown's chances of getting back into the seat may be tied with how voters in the Buckeye State feel about President Donald Trump. The poll found 49% of voters approving of Trump and 42% disapproving.
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy also leads in the Ohio governor's race. In a matchup against Democrat Amy Action, Ramaswamy leads 49% to 39% — with 12% undecided — and in a matchup against former Rep. Tim Ryan, Ramaswamy leads 49% to 41%, with 10% undecided.
In the wake of fights over congressional maps, 41% of voters in Ohio said maps were drawn to give Republicans an advantage compared to 23% who thought they were drawn fairly. Just 8% said they were drawn to help Democrats, while 29% remained unsure.
A former swing state, Ohio has become increasingly Republican over the last 10 years. In the 2024 presidential election, Trump defeated Kamala Harris by 12 points in Ohio.
The Emerson College Polling Ohio survey was conducted August 18-19, 2025. The overall sample of Ohio active registered voters, n=1,000, has a credibility interval, similar to a poll's margin of error, of ±3 percentage points.
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