New polling released by AARP finds a lead for incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in his race for re-election against Trump-backed challenger Bernie Moreno, the Republican nominee for the general election. Among likely voters included in the poll, Brown nabbed 46 percent of the support, while Moreno got 42 percent.
Ohio has recently been leaning Republican, with Donald Trump winning the state in both 2016 and 2020 — the latter time when he ultimately lost in the electoral college, nationally. In Ohio, though, Trump ended up with a leading margin pretty close to his lead from the 2016 race against Clinton.
The AARP polling found leads for Brown among both respondents aged from 18 through 49 and independents, in addition to other groups. The polling was conducted by Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research.
Democrats are facing a potentially arduous map of Senate elections this year, also defending seats in GOP-leaning or potential swing states including Montana and Nevada. Also on the ballot will be departing independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s seat in Arizona, in addition to seats in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, adding uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the presidential race recently underwent a massive shake-up, with Vice President Kamala Harris taking over as Democrats’ presidential torchbearer after the withdrawal from this year’s election of President Joe Biden, who endorsed Harris’ bid. Harris quickly started getting promising poll results at both the national level and in key states — and surges in support for the Democrat in the presidential race could translate to boosts in Democratic support elsewhere. Harris found little issue in consolidating support among both grassroots Democrats and public figures in the party after Biden’s departure.
