WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eleven weeks before Election Day, candidates in Ohio’s Senate race are hitting the campaign trail in one of the most closely watched Senate elections in the country, and the most expensive.

What You Need To Know

  • The Ohio Senate race is among the most closely-watched in the country as it could change the balance of power in the Senate

  • The race is the most expensive Senate race in the country

  • Both candidates are spending this week campaigning and canvassing voters

Republican candidate Bernie Moreno rallied volunteers canvassing for him in Parma on Saturday.

The event was organized by Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP Action), a libertarian conservative political advocacy group that supports Republican candidates.

Moreno spoke to supporters on issues including veteran benefits, building the middle class and restricting illegal immigration. He also expressed optimism that his name recognition is rising in comparison to his opponent, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. A June Marist post found 39% of Ohio voters either had not heard of Moreno or were unsure how to rate him, compared with 24%for Brown.

AFP Action senior advisor for Ohio Donovan O’Neil wrote in a statement,

“Sherrod Brown is skipping the DNC this week, and one thing is clear: he may be hiding from the DNC, but he can’t hide his voting record from Ohioans. AFP Action is dedicated to helping Ohioans see Brown for who he really is—a Washington insider who will side with his party over Ohio.”

Brown confirmed that he would not attend the DNC, saying in an interview that he would instead meet with voters in Ohio.

One of those meetings happened Tuesday, when Brown joined a group of union supporters at United Steel Workers Local 2155 in Niles.

Brown discussed the Butch Lewis Act, a bill he sponsored that became law in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan. The law, which is named in honor of an Ohio Teamster who died in 2015, provides a bailout to fund multi-employer pension plans for 30 years, restoring pensions to their full amount. The law has preserved the pensions of more than 1 million Americans, according to the White House, including 62,000 Ohioans.

“No one works harder than Sherrod Brown when it comes to fighting to protect the pensions and retirement of Ohio workers,” said Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans President Norm Wernet. “Sherrod never gives up—even when passing the Butch Lewis Act looked impossible, Sherrod never abandoned the fight. He got it done.”