Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Sherrod Brown spoke to and met with students at the Ohio Union Student-Alumni Council Room on Monday. Credit: Josephine Pajemola | Lantern Reporter.
Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, visited Ohio State on Monday to meet with students and give a speech as a part of his campaign in the upcoming special election in Ohio.
Speaking in the Ohio Union to a crowd of over 60 students, Brown went over his goals should he get elected, including ending the war in Iran and increasing affordability for students and workers. Brown will face Republican incumbent Sen. Jon Husted in a race that’s put a spotlight on affordability and data centers, in addition to Iran.
“There’s simply no reason we’re in that war,” Brown said in his speech to the crowd. “It’s driving up costs for everything.”
A special election takes place when the senate seat becomes vacant before the end of the normal four- or six-year term for senators. Vice President J.D. Vance was elected to the senate in 2022, but resigned when he became vice president in 2025. While Nov. 3 is the regular midterm election day, it is also the special Senate election.?
Brown said the war is increasing prices for gas, fertilizer, diesel and costs for students as the rising prices make their way through the economy and fuel inflation.
“You’re paying more at the student union,” Brown said. “You’re paying more at Kroger’s for food.”
Brown said that Ohio has a state government that’s neglected not just grades K through 12, but higher education.
“Every year, tuition increases and all of the pressure on all of you to be able to try to find a way to get ahead,” Brown said.?
Brown said Husted is doing nothing to cap costs or mitigate inflation.?
Josie Speakman, a fourth-year in political science and president of College Democrats, opened the event.
“Right now, the system is rigged more than ever before,” Speakman said. “It feels like we can’t get ahead despite working harder than ever. Sherrod is fighting to reform that broken system to help young people succeed.”
Brown said Husted and the people currently in charge of the state and federal government blame workers for the current situation, citing poor work ethic.
“It’s disgusting. It’s so disrespectful,” Brown said. “That’s the kind of contempt that this crowd in charge has for workers, and that’s what’s such a problem for us, for all of us as a nation.”
Brown said he wants young voters, whether they are worried about the climate crisis, about voting rights, or about the difficulty of getting a job or a home out of college, to think about the future they want.
“Jon Husted’s addressing none of that except to continue to contribute to war, to higher prices, to higher insurance prices, higher gas prices,” Brown said.
Speakman said Brown has always fought for Ohio.
“Young people can count on Sherrod to hold big corporations accountable for driving up costs,” Speakman said.
Before he spoke with individuals at the end of his speech, Brown addressed the audience reiterating his plan to stop the war in Iran.?
“Count on me,” Brown said. “We’re going to end this war. We’re going to end the tariffs. [We’re going to] get inflation more under control, and the whole idea is that you have a better future as a result.”
