SHOCKING REPORT: Republicans Are Worried About Jon Husted’s Failing Senate Campaign

SHOCKING REPORT: Republicans Are Worried About Jon Husted's Failing Senate Campaign

September 1, 2026

NBC News: Republican concerns mount as Sen. Jon Husted navigates a tricky race in Ohio

COLUMBUS, OHIO - Shocking new reporting from NBC News shows that Republicans are deeply concerned about Jon Husted's failing Senate campaign. Republicans say Husted's campaign is "getting thrashed" and that Husted's "negatives are spiking" as Ohioans learn more about how his corruption has sent costs soaring for Ohio families.

Recent Fox News polling has Husted down 8% to Sherrod Brown, and even conservative commentators are blasting Husted's failing campaign.

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

"Jon Husted's failing campaign is such a disaster that even Ohio Republicans are worried. Ohioans are learning the truth about how Husted led the charge to bring hundreds of data centers to Ohio, is at the center of the largest bribery scandal in state history, and voted to keep the Epstein files secret. No amount of spin can fix this dumpster fire."

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NBC News: Republican concerns mount as Sen. Jon Husted navigates a tricky race in Ohio

• In conversations with NBC News, seven Republicans who are closely following the race and are experienced in Ohio campaigns expressed varying levels of anxiety about the effort that Husted is waging.

• These people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly assess the race, pointed in part to a difficult climate for GOP candidates hamstrung by President Donald Trump's unpopular war with Iran, a related rise in gas prices and broader affordability concerns. They also complained about Husted's message in response to these challenges and what they view as a struggle to defend himself against attacks.

• Husted's latest Senate campaign finance report - filed about two weeks before he filed his gubernatorial fund's report - showed the account with $6.8 million less than Brown had reported having on hand. A recent Fox News poll found Brown leading Husted, who was viewed unfavorably by 53% of the respondents.

• "He's been getting thrashed," a GOP operative working to preserve the party's Senate majority said of Husted. "And his negatives are spiking."
• Husted's campaign to keep the seat has encountered other bumps. Democrats have fixated on what they characterize as an insulting answer to a question about his Upward Mobility Act, a bill aimed at restructuring welfare-related programs.

• "People living in poverty," Husted said in March on a podcast produced by the conservative Sutherland Institute, are "not very experienced at navigating the real world."

• More recently, Husted faced criticism after the NRSC produced a Husted-authorized ad focused on illegal immigration that featured a photo of a family killed in an Ohio highway crash earlier this year. Relatives of the family said they were not consulted and that the NRSC did not have permission to use the photo in the ad, which is no longer on air.

• Schroeder, the state party official, acknowledged that the headlines about the NRSC data center memo and immigration ad were not helpful for Husted.

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