Sherrod Brown is courting young Ohioans in the Buckeye State’s U.S. Senate race as polls give the Democrat commanding age-group leads but identify weak voting enthusiasm as a potential vulnerability. Brown holds a narrow statewide advantage over Republican Senator Jon Husted, leaving turnout capable of deciding the November 3 special election.
Younger voters could shape both the contest and which party wins the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance. Preference alone does not win elections. Brown must convert support from a group with historically lower participation into votes while Husted works to offset the Democrat’s advantage elsewhere.
Newsweek contacted Brown’s campaign for comment via email. Husted’s campaign told Newsweek via email that it did not comment on public polling. Brown brought his campaign to Ohio State University this week, speaking with more than 60 students about tuition, housing, employment, climate, voting rights and everyday expenses before casting an early ballot in Franklin County.
Students are unhappy about costs,” Brown told reporters Tuesday. It also placed affordability at the center of his appeal to people entering adulthood amid concerns about education, work and homeownership. The age split is clear in the Times/Siena poll.
Brown received 66 percent among likely voters aged 18 to 29, compared with 32 percent for Husted. Among those aged 30 to 44, the contest stood at 49 percent to 41 percent. That advantage reversed among respondents aged 45 to 64, who favored Husted by 51 percent to 43 percent.
Voters aged 65 and older divided evenly at 49 percent apiece. The statewide survey of 616 likely voters was conducted September 22-October 1 and gave Brown a 3-point edge, 49 percent to 46 percent, meaning his lead fell within the Ohio subsample’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. Separate research reinforces the pattern.
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