Sherrod Brown.

Democrat Sherrod Campbell Brown served Ohio in the US Senate from January 2007 to January 2025. A former university professor, Brown has been involved in politics for over forty years.

Background & Education

Brown was born on November 9, 1952, in Mansfield, Ohio, to Charles Gailey Brown and Emily Campbell. He is the youngest of the couple's three sons. His father worked as the town doctor, and his mother was an activist in the civil rights movement. As a boy, Brown became an Eagle Scout. While attending Mansfield Senior High School, Brown was elected president of the student council.

Brown attended Yale University in Connecticut, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian studies in 1974. He earned a Master's Degree in education and public administration from The Ohio State University in 1981. Before his graduation, Brown taught at the university for three years.

Political Career

Brown was a hard-working supporter of Democratic Party candidates during his college years. The Democratic county chair, Don Kindt, suggested that he run for the office of state representative. Brown reportedly knocked on some 20,000 doors during his campaign. He defeated the Republican incumbent and served as an Ohio state representative from 1974 to 1982.

Brown defeated Republican Virgil Brown in the 1982 election for Ohio Secretary of State. He won a second term to the seat in 1986 but did not win re-election in 1990. He was defeated in that race by Republican Party challenger Bob Taft.

In 1992, Brown ran for a seat in the US House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 13th district. Brown won the seat by a large majority. He served on the House Energy Committee and the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

Brown was an opponent of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and led the Democratic push to prevent the measure from passing. He and other opponents believed that the free trade agreement would result in powerful global companies dominating local economies in the region. Although the measure was eventually passed, Brown made use of the political capital he garnered during the debate by running for Senate in 2006.

Having easily won the Democratic Party nomination, Brown challenged two-term Republican incumbent Mike DeWine in the 2006 election. There was some controversy regarding television ads produced by the DeWine campaign, which claimed that Brown had avoided paying an unemployment tax as a Representative. The Brown campaign responded by stating that the evidence cited by the DeWine campaign was in fact a clerical error. Brown won the Senate election, defeating DeWine by 12 percent in the polls.

His Senate career continued through the early twenty-first century. Brown retained his Senate seat in 2012, defeating Republican challenger Josh Mandel and, in 2018, winning over Republican challenger Jim Ranacci. In 2023, Brown was the chair of the Senate Banking Committee and served on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Finance; and Veterans Affairs.

After running unopposed in the 2024 primary election, Brown faced off in a tight and expensive race against Republican challenger Bernie Moreno in the general election. The race was seen as crucial to Democrats retaining their narrow majority in the Senate, prompting political action committees on both sides to pour their own funds into advertising for or against the candidates. Brown also faced the challenge of running as a Democrat in a state that was expected to support Donald Trump as president. In November 2024, Brown lost to Republican nominee Bernie Moreno.

On the Issues

Brown has remained a liberal and progressive politician throughout his career. Brown is strongly pro-choice on the issue of abortion and a supporter of embryonic stem cell research. He is a supporter of same-sex marriage and affirmative action.

Brown is also a strong supporter of gun control, voting against measures to prevent lawsuits aimed at gun manufacturers and proposals to decrease the waiting period in place for gun purchases. In addition, as mass shootings increased in frequency in the United States in the twenty-first century, Brown raised his support for gun control measures. He also supports fair trade and has repeatedly voted against free trade measures, including the US–Australia Free Trade Agreement and the US–Singapore Free Trade Agreement. He has voted in favor of a US withdrawal from the World Trade Organization.

Brown supported the Affordable Care Act and has been vocal about the need for Medicare reform. Brown was an outspoken opponent of several of former president Trump’s controversial immigration policies that focused on separating immigrant families.

Brown and his wife, Connie Schultz, have four daughters, two from Brown’s first marriage and two from Schultz’s first marriage.

Bibliography

“About Sherrod.” Sherrod Brown, www.sherrodbrown.com/about/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

“Issues.” Sherrod Brown, www.sherrodbrown.com/issues/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

Landers, Kevin. "US Senate Race Is Shaping Up to Be the Most Expensive Political Race in the Nation." 10 WBNS, 16 Oct. 2024, www.10tv.com/article/news/politics/elections/us-senate-race-sherrod-brown-bernie-moreno-ad-expenses/530-2813fc18-bb62-4a98-b79f-79911f4a1cec. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

Sherrod Brown: U.S. Senator for Ohio, www.brown.senate.gov/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.