In the Ohio Senate race, Republican Senator Jon Husted and former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown have offered dueling plans on Medicare and Social Security, two issues that could be especially salient in Ohio, home to millions of seniors. Economic issues like affordability have defined the 2026 midterms, but these government programs are a critical economic concern for many voters. As of December 2025, more than 2.6 million Ohioans received Social Security benefits, and a similar number were eligible for Medicare, according to government data.
Census data show more than 2 million Ohioans are 65 or older, making Ohio one of the states with the largest senior population. Brown criticized Husted’s position on these issues in a statement to Newsweek. It’s clear that Jon Husted doesn’t care about protecting Ohioans — he's only concerned with catering to his special interest friends.” Newsweek also reached out to the Husted campaign for comment via email.
The Ohio Senate race is among a handful of toss-up contests that could determine the balance of power in the chamber after the midterms. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority that is seen as increasingly at risk in November. Democrats must flip four seats to win a majority, as Vice President JD Vance would serve as the tiebreaker in an evenly divided Senate.
Democrats are targeting GOP-held states in Maine, which Trump lost by 7 points in 2024, and North Carolina, which he won by 3 points, as their top pickup opportunities. But there are no other Republican-held seats up for grabs in states he won by single digits or outright lost in 2024, meaning Democrats need to contest more conservative territory to flip control of the Senate on November 3. Ohio, which backed Trump by about 11 points, is seen as one of the next best opportunities to win a more Republican-leaning state due to the candidacy of Brown, a former senator, and the fact that the state was more competitive as recently as the 2010s.
The AARP released a voter guide earlier in October in which both candidates discussed their positions on Social Security. Brown touted himself as the lead sponsor of the Social Security Fairness Act, a Biden-era law that ended the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset to increase benefits for workers like teachers, firefighters and police officers. To ensure Social Security benefits are there for future generations, we need to make sure that billionaires are paying their fair share by raising the tax cap so we can extend the life of the program,” he said.
In August, Brown wrote on a post to X that Social Security allows “hardworking Americans to retire with dignity.” Husted described Social Security as a “sacred promise to our seniors.” “I am fully committed to protecting the benefits they have earned through a lifetime of hard work,” Husted said. I was proud to support the $6,000 tax deduction in the Working Family Tax Cut Act for families receiving Social Security.” Husted has also supported efforts to modernize the Social Security income program and has voiced support for the bipartisan Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Savings Penalty Elimination Act. That bill would “raise the SSI asset limits to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for married couples, and index them to inflation moving forward,” according to a statement from his office.
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