FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Weeks before the election, Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is making the final push against former Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown, and he’s doing so with continued help from Americans for Prosperity Action.
After endorsing Husted in March and releasing a series of ad campaigns since then, AFP Action is continuing to support the senator with more door knocking and another buy, with the Daily Signal receiving an exclusive sneak peek.
Ahead of a midterm election year with President Donald Trump in office, the focus from Husted and AFP Action has been highlighting Brown’s record of decades in office.
In one of the ads first shared with the Daily Signal, there’s a warning against “socialism” with the goal of “total government control.”
“When socialists take more of your paycheck, as they cancel your private health insurance, as they take what is yours and give it away, Sherrod Brown will do what he’s always done: rubber stamp whatever his party tells him to,” the ad warns.
Donovan O’Neil, a senior adviser to AFP Action, spoke to the Daily Signal at a door-knocking event in Polaris, Ohio, about concerns with Brown and the challenges Republicans face.
“There is still an anti-incumbent sentiment out there,” O’Neil shared. “[Voters] know that the problems they’re facing today, from the fuel pump to the grocery store, in terms of cost of living, are a result of decades of D.C. dysfunction.”
“Do we go backwards to the guy who voted for trillions in new spending and created the challenges we have in this country, or do we chart a new path forward with Jon Husted?” O’Neil asked. While he warned Brown would be “a rubber stamp” for “D.C. Democrats” like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., he said Husted “is a voice for the working people here in Ohio.”
O’Neil also mentioned further concerns about socialism when asked about having enough support to get Husted’s bills passed in the future, like the Ratepayer Protection Act, which Senate Democrats blocked last month despite near-unanimous support in the House.
“I think when we talk about why we should retain a Republican majority in Washington, it’s really to hold back against the rise of socialism we’re seeing in the Democrat Party and the bad policies that come with that,” O’Neil explained, adding, “Jon Husted is an independent voice for the working families of Ohio, and we need to send him back.”
During his own remarks to volunteers, Husted similarly focused on Brown’s record. The senator asked if anyone has ever told them about Brown doing something to make lives better.
“[Brown] spent 32 years in Washington, and anywhere you go, you can’t talk to anybody who actually said that he’s done anything to make their life better,” Husted said. “He talks about how bad the system is. He is the system. He created the system, and he can’t tell you anything he’s done to change the system to make your lives better. And it’s pretty pathetic after being there that long.”
Husted called Brown’s record “stunning” on tax increases and illegal immigration. The senator focused on that latter topic, highlighting how Ohio drivers have been killed in accidents caused by illegal immigrants given licenses by sanctuary states.
In speaking to reporters before he addressed AFP Action volunteers, Husted also spoke about the importance of turning voters out, while contrasting his and Brown’s records.
“We’ve made a lot of progress on the things [voters] care about,” Husted said, acknowledging “the voters that came out in the last election, we need them to come out in this election.”
As he pointed to his efforts with the Working Families Tax Cuts and economic successes for Ohio with “the most jobs and lowest unemployment rate in the state’s history,” Husted added that lawmakers must “keep driving prices down.”
During the rally in Vandalia, Ohio, last weekend, Trump asked the crowd to act like he was on the ballot to increase voter turnout.
When asked by the Daily Signal if he thought the Trump rally from last weekend helped his chances, Husted pointed to the attendance of “over 5,000 charged up people there” and gave a particular shoutout to former NFL Coach Jon Gruden, who “riled people up more than just about anything” at the rally.
The ads and the rest of AFP Action’s efforts don’t merely go after Brown; they also highlight Husted’s accomplishments.
“Jon Husted believes in America. He knows times are tough, but turning our back on freedom and embracing socialism would make things much worse,” another ad shared with the Daily Signal mentions. “Jon can be trusted. He never quits. He’s got the energy to change D.C. and deliver commonsense solutions. Drive down costs by cutting spending, cutting taxes.”
When asked if voters are being encouraged to “give Jon Husted another chance”—Husted was appointed to fill now-Vice President JD Vance’s seat in January 2025O—’Neil drew a contrast to what Husted has done since then, while Brown served three terms in the Senate.
Both Husted and O’Neil promoted the senator’s involvement in the Working Family Tax Cuts, with O’Neil focusing on how it “lock
There’s the contrast to Brown on that too, as O’Neil added that, “Over 20 years, Sherrod Brown has voted for more spending that has made everything cost more.”
AFP Action has put out other ads for Husted and against Brown this cycle. This latest campaign across Ohio—a mix of digital, television, and radio advertising to engage voters—comes in at $5.2 million, bringing AFP Action’s total investment for the cycle to about $15 million.
O’Neil noted that Ohio’s special election “will be probably one of the most expensive races in the nation when all is said and done.” AFP Action was also involved in the Brown-Moreno race, which was likewise expensive.
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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]
