Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) lead over his three Republican challengers has slipped, a blow to one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection in the Senate.
With less than 10 months until the general election in November, Brown is only slightly ahead of all three of his Republican opponents, by similar margins, an Emerson College Polling survey released Thursday shows.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, initially the Republican front-runner, entered the race in July as the only GOP candidate elected to statewide office. Brown is leading LaRose 39% to 37%.
“Ohioans are struggling under the failed policies of Sherrod Brown and Joe Biden. They want a battle-tested conservative like Frank LaRose who will actually fight for them in Washington,” LaRose spokesman Ben Kindel said about the latest polling in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
In December, Republican candidate Bernie Moreno’s polling started to show LaRose trailing behind the businessman. Moreno, the father-in-law of Rep. Max Miller (R-FL), received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement at the end of 2023. In the same margin, Brown has 39% compared to Moreno’s 37%.
“I’m grateful for the support that our grassroots-driven campaign is getting across Ohio,” Moreno said Thursday. “Republicans in every corner of our state know that I am the candidate with the message and resources to unite our party and defeat Sherrod Brown in November, and I look forward to continuing to share our America-First message across our state.”
Republican state Sen. Matt Dolan was the first to announce he’d take a run at Brown’s seat, marking his second bid for Senate. New polling shows 38% support Brown, while 37% back Dolan, with the Democrat holding a slightly smaller edge over Dolan compared to the other Republican candidates.
Brown holds an edge with independent voters, with the biggest margin of 34% to 22% over LaRose, and women, with the largest gap of 43% to 30% over Moreno, Emerson College Polling Executive Director Spencer Kimball emphasized.
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Brown’s dominance against his Republican opponents has depleted since the last Emerson/Nexstar Media survey from November, in which Brown led Moreno by 11 points, LaRose by 5, and Dolan by 3.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Dolan and Brown’s offices for comment.
