COLUMBUS, Ohio — Democrat Sherrod Brown won Ohio’s U.S. Senate race for the unexpired term ending Jan. 3, 2029, defeating Republican Jon Husted, based on the Clermont Guardian’s analysis of unofficial returns Tuesday night.
According to unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State, Brown had 48.6% of the vote, or 2,054,121 ballots, to Husted’s 46.5%, or 1,962,029 ballots, with 7,927 of the state’s 8,834 precincts reporting, or 89.7%.
The Guardian projected Brown’s win when 7,914 of 8,834 precincts had reported and he held a 2.2-percentage-point lead of 92,393 votes over Husted.
Libertarian William Redpath had 2.8% of the statewide vote, or 120,082 ballots, and independent Greg Levy had 2.0%, or 86,148 ballots.
Statewide, 4,250,651 ballots had been cast of 8,018,054 registered voters, a turnout of 53.0%, according to unofficial figures from the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. The Secretary of State’s office reported 4,067 outstanding military and overseas absentee ballots and 52,036 outstanding provisional ballots still to be counted in the official canvass.
In the state’s other marquee race, the Guardian projects Democrat Amy Acton won the governor’s race over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, 50.9% to 45.7%, a lead of 165,481 votes when the call was made with 7,298 of 8,834 precincts reporting. Libertarian Don Kissick had 3.4% of the vote.
In other statewide races, none of which the Guardian had called, Republican Keith Faber led Democrat John Kulewicz 51.2% to 48.8% for attorney general, Republican Frank LaRose led Democrat Annette Blackwell 52.2% to 47.8% for auditor of state, Democrat Allison Russo led Republican Robert Sprague 48.8% to 48.2% for secretary of state, and Republican Jay Edwards led Democrat Seth Walsh 50.9% to 49.1% for treasurer, all with 90% of precincts reporting. Republican Daniel Hawkins led Democrat Marilyn Zayas 50.5% to 49.5% in one Ohio Supreme Court race, while Republican Colleen O’Donnell and Democrat Jennifer Brunner were tied at 50.0% each in the other. The Guardian projects voters approved State Issue 3, which requires voters to present photo identification at the polls, 66.0% to 34.0%.
In Clermont County, the heart of the Clermont Guardian’s coverage area, Husted carried the Senate race with 57.2% of the vote, or 51,134 ballots, to Brown’s 37.4%, or 33,442 ballots, with all 168 of the county’s 168 precincts reporting.
Redpath received 3.4% of the Clermont County vote, or 3,030 ballots, and Levy received 2.0%, or 1,777 ballots. The county, whose seat is Batavia, recorded 90,233 ballots cast Tuesday, a turnout of 60.2%.
Readers can follow live, county-by-county results at https://clermontguardian.com/election-results-2026/.
Results are unofficial until certified by the Ohio Secretary of State. Source: Ohio Secretary of State election night reporting. See the live map: https://clermontguardian.com/election-results-2026/