Republicans in historically critical battleground county pull no punches in midterm homestretch: 'Lot of hope'

HAMILTON, OH - Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is fighting for his political future in a tight race in reliably red , and he spoke to Fox News Digital along with other local Republicans about what to expect in the few weeks before the critical midterm election.

"Look, he's been there for 50 years and everywhere I go, no one can name a single thing that he ever did for them," Husted said about his Democratic opponent Sherrod Brown, who is attempting to return to the U.S. Senate after being defeated by Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, in 2024.

"And think about this, you can't keep sending the same old Sherrod Brown back to Washington and expect different results. The place is broken. He's the one that broke it. He created the system. If you wanna see a better, brighter future, you cant send the same ol' Sherrod Brown back."

Husted, speaking to Fox News Digital at a Butler County GOP event on Saturday, pointed to the recent Ohio visits from President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., as a sign the momentum is on his side in a race some polls show him trailing.

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"We're seeing a ton of energy and literally in the last month, you can just feel it change…we're just seeing people all around the state just rallying and the crowds have been larger and more enthusiastic than I expected in a midterm. So it gives us a lot of hope."

Despite Ohios Republican lean, Husted faces an uphill battle in a race that has tightened considerably and Republicans are also contending with the traditional midterm headwinds facing the party in power, making turnout and voter enthusiasm especially critical in the weeks ahead.

Republicans are also facing concerns over gas prices and affordability, with voters focused on the cost of everyday essentials ahead of the midterm elections. Fox News Digital asked Husted about those concerns and whether part of his message to voters is that the Democratic Party being put back in power wont fix those issues.

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"Yeah, look, it's common sense versus crazy," Husted explained. "Look, we've done some good things. We have more jobs in Ohio than we've ever had in our history, the lowest unemployment rate. Now we just got to fight to get prices down. The Democrats block us at every turn trying to do that."

Democrats in the Senate Husteds legislation aimed at requiring large data centers to pay for the power generation and infrastructure needed to serve their facilities rather than shifting that burden onto taxpayers as the data center issue becomes a top issue on the Ohio campaign trail.

"They blocked my ratepayer protection pledge, which would have forced data centers to pay their own way. Why? Because they just wanted to use it as a political issue rather than actually solving problems for people," Husted said.

Husted continued, "We're the party of drill, baby drill. They're the part of closing down pipelines and refineries and power plants. We are going to create the energy supply to meet the demand and help lower prices. The Democrats, they don't believe in any of it. They believe in command and control of the government. They want to take more of your money out of your paycheck, send it to Washington. If you want your freedom and your fortune, then you need to vo