Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, speaks during the Republican Midterm Convention at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, took to the stage Wednesday at the Republican National midterm convention in Dallas, blasting his Democrat opponent ahead of November’s special election.
Husted began by mentioning his humble beginnings before quickly pivoting to former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who was first elected to the state House when Husted was 7 years old.
“And you know what he did? He got to work leaving families like mine behind. Over 50 years later, he’s still running, but Ohioans are onto his game,” Husted said.
Husted also touted the tax cuts he helped get passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill signed in July of last year, mentioning some of the bill’s greatest hits, such as no taxes on tips, overtime, or Social Security. “It was the biggest tax cut for working families in history, and every Democrat in the Senate voted against it,” Husted continued.
The senator, to boos, brought up Democrats being in charge less than two years ago to paint a stark contrast. “Under Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Sherrod Brown, Democrats gave us open borders and sanctuary cities, and vote to give our tax dollars to illegal immigrants,” he said. “Why do Democrats seem to fight harder for people who are in this country illegally than they do for American citizens and families?” Husted wondered.
He then brought it back to his Ohio roots as he lashed out against how Brown “raised our taxes to fund benefits for illegals and shipped our jobs to China,” adding, “Sherrod Brown put Shanghai over Steubenville and Beijing over Brunswick, didn’t he, Ohio?”
Husted also brought up the “crazy” parts of Brown’s record, which included wanting “to allow men in women’s sports and demanded that we call mothers ‘pregnant persons.’”
“He’s not on our side, this election this fall comes down to some clear questions for working families. Do you want to keep more of what you earn, or do you want to see more of your hard-earned money go to Washington for failures and fraud? Which one is it? Do you want to keep more of what you earn?” Husted asked a cheering crowd. “Should we let working families keep more of what they earn? They earned the paycheck. It’s theirs, isn’t it?”
The senator concluded with a commitment to keep “fighting for that principle.”
