Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is drawing attention for an apparent stumble during the final stretch of his Ohio comeback campaign, with Republican operatives circulating footage of the incident as voters head to the polls.
RNC Research shared a video on X that appears to show the longtime Democrat losing his footing and nearly falling while making his closing campaign pitch.
The awkward moment comes as Brown attempts to reclaim a Senate seat just two years after Ohio voters rejected his reelection bid, handing Republican Bernie Moreno a victory in 2024.
Now, Brown is facing another Republican opponent, Sen. Jon Husted, in a high-stakes special election that could help determine control of the Senate.
Vice President JD Vance, whose former Senate seat is at stake, returned to Ohio on Monday to deliver one final campaign push for Husted.
Vance made his third trip to the state in less than a month, underscoring the importance of the contest to Republicans.
“It’s definitely personal to me, and hopefully he’s going to pull it out. I feel good about it,” Vance told USA TODAY.
Sherrod Brown’s closing argument: *trips* https://t.co/tFaBDs7Rmu
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 3, 2026
Speaking at a rally in Swanton, Ohio, the vice president stressed his connection to the state where his political career began.
“I am closing out this campaign right where it all started for me, the great state of Ohio, because I know you’re going to choose right tomorrow,” Vance declared.
The race has attracted enormous national attention as Republicans seek to defend their Senate majority against Democrats attempting to regain ground in a state President Donald Trump carried in three consecutive presidential elections.
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Brown previously served in the Senate for 18 years before losing to Moreno in 2024, when the Republican captured approximately 50% of the vote compared with Brown’s 46%.
Husted, Ohio’s former lieutenant governor, was appointed to replace Vance after the Republican became vice president in January 2025.
The winner of Tuesday’s special election will serve the remaining two years of Vance’s original Senate term.
Republicans have emphasized Brown’s lengthy career in Washington, while the former senator has attempted to portray Husted as too closely connected to major technology companies.
Brown’s campaign has targeted Husted over Ohio’s expanding data center industry, accusing the Republican of supporting tax incentives benefiting large corporations.
Husted, however, sponsored bipartisan legislation intended to shift more electricity costs onto data center operators rather than ordinary consumers.
The legislation passed the House before stalling in the Senate, where Democrats argued that it did not impose sufficient requirements on technology companies.
Meanwhile, the campaign’s final days have been complicated by controversy surrounding Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy.
Vivek Ramaswamy faced criticism over an advertisement featuring the estranged mother of Democratic opponent Amy Acton. The commercial was eventually withdrawn following objections from politicians in both parties.
Vance criticized Republicans who focused on the advertisement instead of challenging Democratic policies.
“I have to admit that I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” Vance said.
Donald Trump also defended the advertisement as “fair game.”
With more than $510 million spent on the Senate contest, according to AdImpact, Ohio has become one of the country’s most expensive political battlegrounds.
A New York Times/Siena poll released Nov. 2 showed Brown leading Husted 49% to 44%, although the race remains closely contested.
As voters cast their ballots Tuesday, Brown’s apparent campaign stumble has provided Republicans with another moment to highlight during the final hours of the election.
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