President Donald Trump will campaign in Vandalia, Ohio, to support Sen. Jon Husted as Husted faces a close contest with Sherrod Brown. Recent polls, notably a Sept. 21–23 Quantus survey, show Brown with significant leads among voters under 45. High youth disapproval of Trump and conflicting 2024 exit-poll data complicate estimates of how much his visit can shift younger voters. The outcome will help determine whether Trump’s backing can narrow Brown’s edge before the midterms.
Can Trump’s Visit Boost Jon Husted? Polls Show Brown Leading Among Younger Voters
File photo: Trump listens as Senator Jon Husted, R-Ohio, speaks in the Oval Office, the White House, Washington, D.C, May 9, 2025.
President Donald Trump will travel to Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday to campaign for Republican Senator Jon Husted as Husted seeks to fend off a competitive challenge from former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown.
Polling Snapshot
Poll aggregators such as RealClearPolling currently rate the race as a toss-up, with recent statewide surveys generally showing Brown holding narrow leads. The Democratic advantage is most pronounced among younger voters: a Quantus Insights poll conducted Sept. 21–23 found Brown leading Husted 51% to 31% among voters aged 18–29 and 50% to 39% among those aged 30–44. That survey sampled 695 likely voters and reported a margin of error of ±4.2 percentage points.
"We are looking forward to welcoming President Trump to Ohio, a state he won decisively three times," a Husted campaign spokesperson told Newsweek in an emailed statement. The campaign also said it does not comment on public polling.
Trump's Influence—Especially With Younger Voters
Trump carried Ohio in each presidential campaign in which he was a candidate, making him an influential Republican voice in the state. Still, recent surveys suggest his standing with younger Ohioans has weakened. A Civiqs poll found that 70% of Ohioans aged 18–34 disapprove of the way the president is handling his job, and 62% of those aged 35–49 expressed disapproval.
Because ballots do not record voters' ages, analysts rely on exit polls and surveys to estimate how different cohorts voted. Edison Research's exit-poll analysis suggested Trump narrowly won Ohio voters aged 18–29 in 2024 by three percentage points while losing voters aged 30–44 to Kamala Harris by one point. Other exit-poll estimates differ: Fox News' 2024 exit polling indicated Trump led Harris across all age groups in the state. Those conflicting results complicate assessments of how much a Trump rally can shift younger voters toward Husted.
Political Context
Sherrod Brown is mounting a comeback two years after losing his Senate seat to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024. A longtime fixture in Ohio politics, Brown had held that seat since 2007 as the state trended more Republican. Jon Husted, also a veteran Ohio politician who has served in multiple statewide roles, assumed the state's other Senate seat in January 2025 after J.D. Vance became vice president.
File photo: Trump listens as Senator Jon Husted, R-Ohio, speaks in the Oval Office, the White House, Washington, D.C., May 9, 2025.
With the midterms approaching, the practical question for Republicans is whether a high-profile visit from Trump can energize Husted’s supporters and chip away at Brown’s advantage among younger voters—or whether the rally will have limited effect given skepticism in those key demographics.
Help us improve.
