Sherrod Brown has long positioned himself as an advocate for Ohio’s agricultural community, a stance he’s maintained for over 30 years.
However, a controversial decision saw him supporting legislation that bypassed the vast majority of these farmers.
The seasoned Democrat, now 73, is attempting a political resurgence, targeting his previous Senate seat. He aims to challenge Republican Jon Husted, who stepped in following JD Vance’s departure to assume the vice presidency.
Amidst Brown’s campaign efforts, a significant issue has emerged that could undermine his support.
In his last Senate term, Brown was a co-sponsor of the 2021 Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act, a measure that specifically excluded white farmers from receiving aid.
Statistics from the USDA highlight that white farmers manage 97 percent of Ohio’s farms, drawing attention to the exclusionary nature of the bill for the state’s agricultural majority.
The full bill never passed, but Brown successfully pushed its provisions into the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the sweeping Biden-era COVID relief package.
Now he wants those same Ohio farmers to send him back to Washington.
A Fox News Poll released this week found Brown to be ahead of Husted, 53 percent to 45 percent, in a race that’s shaping up to be one of the most-watched Senate races of the 2026 cycle.
Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, a former three-term U.S. senator, speaks at a primary election night campaign event in Cleveland, Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Leonard Hubert and his wife, Gail on the their farm in Granville, Ohio
A March 2021 press release from the Senate banking committee, which Brown led at the time, makes no mention of the farming provisions or of the state’s agricultural industry at all.
Leonard Hubert, a black farmer who served as the USDA’s Farm Service Agency State Executive Director in the first Trump administration, told the Daily Mail that Brown may have intentionally tried to hide his actions.
‘Maybe [Brown] didn’t want everybody to know,’ about his support for the legislation, Hubert suggested.
That comes as the Senate hopeful has a ‘fairly good reputation with Ohio farmers,’ he said.
Hubert also noted that when you ‘look at the top 10 states where black farmers exist, obviously, Ohio is not one.’
Therefore, Hubert found Brown’s support of the legislation odd, noting, ‘when you’ve been part of the institution for so long, and you’ve been in a position where you can affect change, then why don’t you do that.
‘If USDA or any particular agency is a problem, why don’t you find a real solution to fix the problem, as opposed to adding something else to it, which, from my perspective, creates another problem,’ Hubert added.
The Brown campaign did not respond to a Daily Mail request for comment about his support for the legislation.
Ohio is home to over 136,000 farmers, the fourth most of any state in the country, and they are a key constituency Brown is aiming to appeal to. Yet, only about 200 of them are black, a point Hubert emphasized to the Daily Mail several times throughout his interview.
One post made on March 24th to Brown’s campaign Instagram account features a headline boasting that ‘Sherrod Brown hears Ohio Farmers’ concerns on rising costs,’ overlaid with an image of him seemingly holding a roundtable with white farmers.
Sherrod’s campaign showing that they care about farmers
The second slide from Sherrod’s campaign showing that he care about farmers
Another recent video showcases his shaking hands with farmers, keeping them to ‘keep on farming.’
That video is captioned ‘whether you work on a farm or in a factory, earn a salary or make tips, are raising children or caring for an aging parent, I’m fighting for you.’
In 2024, Brown was unable to hold on to his seat as Trump surged to his third straight victory in the Buckeye State, losing to Bernie Moreno.
A video from Sherrod’s campaign instagram account that shows him encouraging farmers
A video from Sherrod’s campaign instagram account that shows him encouraging farmers
First elected to Congress in 1992, Brown served in Washington for 32 years — fourteen in the House of Representatives and 18 in the Senate.
Brown is aiming to flip the seat back into Democratic hands in a race that could prove vital to the effort to retake the US Senate from GOP control.
The Cook Political Report currently ranks Ohio’s Senate seat in its ‘Toss-Up’ category, along with the Maine seat held by Senator Susan Collins, making Brown a key challenger Democrats will spend money on.
Former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown speaks during a campaign event ahead of primary elections at the Paladin Brewery in Austintown, Ohio, Thursday, April, 30, 2026.
Per Federal Elections Commission Records, Brown’s campaign had brought in nearly $26 million dollars in the 2026 election cycle, and has over $17 million cash on hand.
Prediction market Kalshi gives Brown a 56 percent chance to win, and Husted a 46 percent chance to keep his seat. Polymarket, meanwhile, gives a Democrat a 55 percent chance, while a Republican has a 45 percent chance.
Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the upper chamber on Capitol Hill.
