Republicans Plan Big Spending to Keep Ohio's Senate Seat. A Bribery Scandal Adds to Their Challenges

Source: US News & World Report/AP

April 19, 2026, at 8:25 a.m.


COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — As he seeks to retain his U.S. Senate seat this fall, Ohio Republican Jon Husted has been unable to escape the shadow of a $60 million bribery scandal that has roiled state politics for more than five years. Husted was recently called to testify as a defense witness in the related criminal trial of two former energy executives, testimony he might have to reprise after a hung jury led to a mistrial in the case in March.

A judge in Akron scheduled the retrial to begin Sept. 28, meaning Husted could be back on the witness stand a week before early voting begins for the November elections. The former lieutenant governor and Ohio secretary of state has never been charged with or accused of any wrongdoing. But the vast public record that has emerged from the scandal has raised questions about Husted's dealings with key players who have been indicted or imprisoned in the scheme, which revolved around legislative approval of a $1 billion bailout for the state's two nuclear power plants.

It's too early to know whether Husted's association with the trial will be a political liability for the first-term senator, who in the fall is expected to face Sherrod Brown, a Democrat ousted from the Senate in 2024.

In a potential sign of concern, Senate Republicans’ main super political action committee, the Senate Leadership Fund, recently announced plans to spend $79 million on Husted's behalf. That's roughly one-quarter of its planned national spending in eight tightly contested Senate races.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2026-04-19/republicans-plan-big-spending-to-keep-ohios-senate-seat-a-bribery-scandal-adds-to-their-challenges