(AP) — The primary election on Tuesday in Ohio set up what is expected to be one of the most expensive races for U.S. Senate this year as Republicans try to hold on to the chamber, while biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy will face a challenge from the state’s former health director as he seeks to keep the governor’s office in GOP hands.
In what promises to be one of November’s most high-profile races, former Sen. Sherrod Brown easily defeated a challenger in the Ohio Democratic primary and will now attempt to unseat Republican Sen. Jon Husted.
Brown touts his economic populist message in victory speech
The three-term U.S. senator from Ohio who lost his seat in the 2024 election thanked supporters at an election night party before pivoting to his longtime economic message.
“No one in the Senate is standing up to these corporations who raise your prices and who game the system,” Brown said to boos from the crowd. “Instead, the people who are supposed to be representing you in Washington, they play the stock market, they cycle through the revolving door, they lobby for special interests the moment they leave the United States Congress.”
He denounced major banks, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, as well as “big corporations” that build data centers in Ohio. He also took aim at Husted, his rival in the general election.
“Ohioans don’t have anyone fighting for you, until November,” Brown told the crowd.
Acton says it’s time to make Ohio affordable again
Amy Acton, who won the uncontested Democratic primary in the Ohio governor’s race, said during a victory speech that she was running to make the state more affordable again.
She cited rising costs for gas, electricity and child care as hurdles for families in the state. She said people were doing the right things but still struggling.
“It shouldn’t be this hard,” she said. “It is time to put working families first.”
Ramaswamy to face Acton for Ohio governor
Billionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has clinched the Republican nomination for Ohio governor and will face off this fall against the state’s COVID-era health director, Democrat Amy Acton.
A newcomer to state politics, Ramaswamy aggressively positioned himself for the job early with the help of endorsements from President Donald Trump and the state Republican Party.
Trump’s endorsement continues to carry weight in Ohio, which favored him three times for president, but Ramaswamy could face headwinds amid the president’s lagging popularity over the war in Iran and the rising cost of living.
Acton, a physician who was unopposed in her primary, has a well-known public profile and robust fundraising.
Husted secures GOP Senate nomination and Acton Democratic governor nomination
U.S. Sen. Jon Husted has secured the Republican Senate nomination in Ohio, as the incumbent braces for what is expected to be an expensive fight to hold his seat.
On the Democrats’ side, Dr. Amy Acton won the party’s nomination for governor. The state’s COVID-era state health director moves on to a likely matchup against Republican billionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who was facing a challenger in the GOP primary.
Husted and Acton were both unopposed in their primaries.
