WASHINGTON — Democrat Sherrod Brown will attempt to win back his U.S. Senate seat in Ohio in next year’s midterm elections, according to media reports, in a race that likely would pit him against Republican Senator John Husted as Democrats fight to win back control of the chamber.

The media site cleveland.com reported that Brown will jump into the contest, citing unnamed Ohio labor leaders familiar with his thinking.

Brown was not reachable for comment.

Brown, 72, served for 18 years in the Senate before he lost to Republican Bernie Moreno last November in a 50.1%-46.5% vote.

Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and Ohio could become the site of one of a  half-dozen most competitive races in next year’s elections. Husted was appointed in January to temporarily fill the seat vacated by JD Vance when he became vice president. The winner of the November 2026 special election would serve the remainder of Vance’s Senate term, ending in January 2029.

Brown anchored his long congressional career as a dogged fighter for blue-collar workers in Ohio, which has suffered job losses as steel, automotive and other jobs moved abroad.

Once a battlefield state, Ohio has leaned increasingly Republican over the past decade. Last November, Republican Donald Trump handily defeated Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris 55.2%-44% in Ohio, where he remains a potent political force.

Both Brown and Husted would be favored to win their respective parties’ primary races next year. After his defeat last November, Brown founded the Dignity of Work Institute, aimed at improving pay and benefits for working-class people.

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(Reporting by Richard Cowan; editing by Andy Sullivan and Leslie Adler)