Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio is turning to crude language in his bid to return to the Senate, releasing a profanity-filled video ad on social media that takes aim at his Republican opponent, incumbent Sen. Jon Husted, over comments Husted made about poverty earlier this year.
Brown’s new 30-second ad shows a series of Ohio residents holding up their phones and reacting to video of Husted discussing poverty.
The ad wastes no time setting its tone. In the opening moments, a man points at his screen and says, “Listen to this sh*t.” While the word is censored in the caption, it is not censored in the video itself.
The clip the Ohioans are shown reacting to features Husted speaking in March. In it, the Republican says that “people living in poverty” are “not very experienced at navigating the real world.”
Husted goes on to describe a “young lady” who he said grew up on food stamps and did not “really understand how money works at a grocery store.”
“So you literally have to teach people how to budget,” Husted says in the clip.
As the video plays, the people featured in the ad respond with raised eyebrows, open-mouthed gasps and angry frowns. The ad closes with one woman declaring, “F*ck that,” before cutting straight to Brown’s “I’m Sherrod Brown and I approve this message” disclaimer.
The ad racked up more than 350,000 views within just a few hours. It drew praise from Brown’s supporters and left-of-center political commentators, many of whom criticized Husted’s remarks as out of touch or unfair. The ad also drew negative responses from the right.
Brown is no stranger to Ohio politics. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 and served until 2024, when he was defeated by Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno. Before joining the Senate, Brown represented Ohio’s 13th congressional district. He also previously served as Ohio secretary of state and spent several years in the state House.
Husted brings a lengthy resume of his own. He was appointed to the Senate in 2025 after JD Vance became vice president. Before that, Husted served as Ohio’s lieutenant governor, secretary of state, a state senator, speaker of the Ohio House and a state representative.
Husted is now running in a special election this November to fill the remainder of Vance’s Senate term, which will be up for re-election in 2028.
President Donald Trump carried Ohio by solid margins in all three of his presidential runs. However, his polling numbers in 2026 appear to be weighing on Husted’s chances this November.
Polls tracked by RealClearPolitics have shown Brown ahead for months, and the site’s polling average currently has him leading by nearly 4 points.
A Fox News Power Rankings update from earlier this month also shifted three Ohio races toward Democrats. The Fox News reporter behind the update partially attributed the shift to Brown running a “strong race” and helping lift Democrats further down the ballot.
With the special election approaching, Brown’s expletive-laced ad signals the Democrat is willing to go on the attack as he seeks to reclaim a seat in the Senate.
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