Democrat Surges in Fundraising to Unseat Republican Senator

The fundraising numbers are out for the second quarter, including for the special election for U.S. Senate in Ohio.

Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, has again outraised Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed to replace now Vice President JD Vance.

Brown’s campaign reported more than $17.1 million raised from April 1 to June 30, which included $14.1 million to its principal committee, Friends of Sherrod Brown, and about $3 million to affiliated fundraising committees.

Husted’s campaign reported $7.7 million raised, with $3.4 million going to the principal campaign committee and $4.3 million to affiliated committees, which included Husted Victory, Team Husted, and JON PAC. NBC 4 reported that this was more than double the campaign’s first-quarter total. The campaign has more than $11 million in cash on hand.

A press release from the Brown campaign highlighted that the campaign took in “nearly 70,000 new donors,” and that 96% of individual donations were $100 or less. The press release also stressed Brown’s “grassroots” focus, with the average grassroots donation being $33.

“Ohioans across the state are fed up with Jon Husted, who repeatedly puts corporations, billionaires, and special interests first at the expense of hard working families,” Patrick Eisenhauer, Friends of Sherrod Brown’s campaign manager, said. “While Jon Husted has repeatedly voted to raise the cost of health care, gas, and groceries, Sherrod Brown is fighting for Ohioans who deserve someone who will take on the rigged system in the Senate.”

Both campaigns and their supporters have focused on affordability issues. Americans for Prosperity Action, which endorsed Husted, has also stressed a focus on affordability in this particular race, and overall, when it comes to Republicans holding the Senate.

This is the fourth quarter in a row that Brown has raised more than Husted, as NBC 4 noted.

A press release from the Husted campaign touted how that $3.4 million amount “is the largest second-quarter fundraising total ever posted by an Ohio Republican U.S. Senate candidate.”

Both Husted and his campaign spokesperson focused on Brown’s previous time in office.

“Sherrod Brown spent 32 years in Washington raising Ohioans’ taxes, shipping jobs overseas, and supporting open-border policies that put illegal immigrants above the Ohioans he swore to serve,” Husted said. “Voters fired Sherrod Brown two years ago, and today’s fundraising haul shows they are eager to keep Brown in retirement. Ohioans deserve a fighter who will put their families first, and that’s what I’ll bring to the U.S. Senate.”

Brown, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, lost reelection in 2024 to now Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno. There was chatter last summer that he was being recruited by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., with Brown making his run official last August.

“Democrats will bring out the cavalry to bail out Sherrod Brown, but there is not enough money in the world to erase his failed record,” Husted spokesperson Amy Natoce added. “National Democrats poured more than $250 million into Ohio in 2024, and Ohioans still gave Sherrod Brown the boot. The same will happen this November.”

The fundraising numbers show that Husted does have an advantage in one area. While both candidates take most of their individual donations from fellow Ohioans, a majority of Brown’s individual donations come from out of state. The opposite is true for Husted.

According to Open Secrets, citing Federal Election Commission data, 59.3% of Brown’s individual donations for the campaign committee come from out of state, while 40.5% come from in state for the 2025-2026 cycle, with 0.10% undisclosed.

Husted’s profile on Open Secrets shows 55.1% of individual donations for the campaign committee come from in state, while 44.9% are from out of state for that same cycle.

The race is rated by Cook Political Report as a “Toss-Up.” Whoever wins in November will have to run again in 2028 if seeking reelection.