U.S. senator for Ohio since January 2025, by appointment to the seat this special election fills. Campaign affiliation: Republican.
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Voter guide
Background, stated goals, record, and money
Background comes from official records, and from the campaign's own biography where the bullet says so; goals are summarized from the campaign's own platform and stay attributed; the record lines are official actions with the government source attached; money is shown as filed, with the filing window and the reconciliation in the note under the table, and is not evidence of why any position was taken.
Speaker of the Ohio House from 2005 to 2009; the Ohio House's own list of Speakers records it. Ohio House of Representatives
His Senate biography says he later served in the Ohio Senate, as secretary of state from 2011 for two terms, and as lieutenant governor, where his campaign says he founded InnovateOhio and started the TechCred job-training program. Office of Senator Jon Husted, Husted for Senate
His biography says he began life in a foster home before being adopted, and was raised in Williams County. Office of Senator Jon Husted
What they say they want to do
A rule that data centers and other very large electricity users, not households or small businesses, pay for the grid upgrades built to serve them. Office of Senator Jon Husted
A two-year extension of the enhanced ACA premium tax credits, paired with changes he says would reduce fraud and lower premiums. Office of Senator Jon Husted
Receipts from committees on lines 11B, 11C and 12 of his principal committee's filings for the 2025-2026 cycle through June 30, 2026, grouped by the FEC's recorded type of the contributing committee. Line 11B, party committees: 2 rows totalling $62,050.00; Line 11C, other political committees: 820 rows totalling $2,320,510.00, leaving out 11 memo entries, which restate money counted elsewhere; Line 12, transfers from authorized committees: 56 rows totalling $5,675,891.08, leaving out 2,998 memo entries, which restate money counted elsewhere. The rows sum to $8,058,451.08. Each line's itemized sum matches the committee's own summary total for that line. Donations individuals made through ActBlue or WinRed are individual contributions and are not in the table, and neither is any other individual contribution. The rows sum to 8,058,451.08 dollars.
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Words and record
Where statements meet the record
Each card is labeled narrowly, by rule, and states its own limit.
Jon Husted
His first bill to become law: the appliance rule
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His office says his first bill to become law repealed regulations, and describes it as his resolution reversing a Biden-era energy requirement on household appliances.
“My first bill to become law repeals regulations to make everyday life easier and more affordable for Americans.”
The law is the House resolution, H.J. Res. 42, which Representative Andrew Clyde filed on February 12, 2025 to overturn the Department of Energy's rule on certification, labelling and enforcement for appliance standards. The House passed it on March 5 (Roll Call 59, 222 to 203). Husted filed the Senate version, S.J. Res. 50, on April 28, the day before the Senate voted 52 to 46 to take up the House resolution, with his Yea (Roll Call 222). On April 30 he spoke for it on the Senate floor: "I am proud to stand here and lead this commonsense legislation." Senator Thune said that day the effort was "led here in the Senate by Senator Husted." The Senate passed it that day with his Yea, 52 to 46 (Roll Call 223), and it became Public Law 119-8 on May 9, 2025. His own resolution went no further.
Limit: The law is Representative Clyde's resolution, filed first; Husted filed his 54 days after the House passed it. The two read the same because the law sets the wording of every resolution of this kind, so the match does not show who wrote it. The record does show him leading it in the Senate, and his office's release gives both chambers' vote dates.
Jon Husted
Over-the-counter medicines: the SMART OTC Act
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His office says his bipartisan SMART OTC Act was signed into law, making it easier for families to get more affordable over-the-counter medicines.
“SMART OTC Act was signed into law, making it easier for families to access more affordable over-the-counter medicines”
He introduced S. 2529 on July 30, 2025, with Senator Hassan; it sets a process for meetings with the Food and Drug Administration before an application to switch a drug from prescription to over-the-counter status. The bill was referred to committee, and its text was enacted, with some changes in wording, as section 6507 of Public Law 119-37, the continuing appropriations act signed on November 12, 2025; the meeting-request provision is word for word the same in both.
Limit: It became law as one section of a funding act, not as a bill of its own, and some wording changed on the way. The introduced bill carries no short title; SMART OTC Act is his office's name for it. Whether the change makes medicines more affordable is a prediction the record does not test.
Jon Husted
The Great Lakes fishery act
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His office's release says the Great Lakes Fishery Research Reauthorization Act was sponsored by him and counts it as the third bill he spearheaded to be signed into law; its next sentence says Senator Gary Peters and he introduced it together on September 18, 2025.
“The Great Lakes Fishery Research Reauthorization Act, sponsored by Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), was passed by the United States House of Representatives”
“Sens. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) today introduced the Great Lakes Fishery Research Reauthorization Act”
What the record shows ·
Congress.gov records Senator Gary Peters as the sponsor of S. 2878, introduced September 18, 2025, and Husted as its only cosponsor, an original one. It passed the Senate on November 19 and the House on December 15, 2025, and became Public Law 119-67 on December 26, 2025, extending the Great Lakes fishery research authorization from 2025 to 2030.
He voted Yea on Senate passage of S. 331, the HALT Fentanyl Act, on March 14, 2025; it passed 84 to 16 (Roll Call 127). The bill, sponsored by Senator Bill Cassidy, became Public Law 119-26. It places fentanyl-related substances in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act as a class.
On March 3, 2025 he voted Yea on cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 9, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, which would have Title IX athletics recognise sex based solely on reproductive biology and genetics at birth. Cloture was not invoked, 51 to 45, short of the 60 needed (Roll Call 100), and the bill has had no vote on passage.
Limit: The one recorded vote is procedural: whether to begin debate, not whether to pass the bill. It is the vote his biography describes, and he cast it the way the biography says.
Jon Husted
Taxes: the 2025 tax law
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His office lists what the 2025 tax law provides, including no tax on tips or overtime, a $2,200 child tax credit and a partially refundable adoption credit of up to $5,000, and he says he is proud to have supported it.
“this law helps you keep more of what you earn, which is why I’m proud to have supported it”
He voted Yea on Senate passage of H.R. 1 in the sitting of June 30, 2025, which ran into July 1; the Senate divided 50 to 50 and the Vice President's vote carried it (Roll Call 372). It became Public Law 119-21 on July 4, 2025; the law has no short title. Section 70104 raises the child tax credit to $2,200. Section 70402 makes up to $5,000 of the adoption credit refundable. Sections 70201 and 70202 create deductions for qualified tips, capped at $25,000, and for qualified overtime, capped at $12,500 or $25,000 on a joint return; both shrink above $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($300,000 on a joint return) and end after 2028.
Limit: He voted for the law and it contains each provision his office lists. "No tax on tips" and "no tax on overtime" are his office's shorthand for capped deductions that end after 2028, which is not the same as removing the tax. The same release says he "cast the deciding vote"; the record shows fifty senators voting Yea on an evenly divided vote, any one of whom was needed, and does not single out his.
Jon Husted
Rural hospitals: the Rural Health Transformation Fund
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His office says he fought to support the creation of the Rural Health Transformation Fund.
“which is why I fought to support the creation of this fund”
Section 71401 of Public Law 119-21 created the Rural Health Transformation Program and appropriated $10,000,000,000 a year for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 for allotments to states. He voted Yea on the law's Senate passage (Roll Call 372). On July 2, 2025, the chief executives of four rural Ohio health systems wrote to him and Senator Bernie Moreno thanking them for "tireless work behind the scenes" to direct funding to Ohio's rural hospitals; the letter does not name the fund. After the law was enacted, his office says, he led a letter from Ohio's congressional delegation on December 19, 2025 supporting the state's application to the fund.
Limit: He voted for the law that created the fund, which is one section of it. The hospital chiefs' letter thanks him for work on rural hospital funding but does not name the fund. The delegation letter came after the fund existed. What he did in the talks, which "fought" describes, is not something a roll call records.
Jon Husted
ACA premium tax credits: his extension bill
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His office says he brought his bill to extend the enhanced ACA premium tax credits for two years, with reforms, to the Senate floor for passage by unanimous consent, and that it was blocked.
“This would extend enhanced premium credits for two years, but with reforms that will reduce fraud, lower premiums and protect the long-standing conscience rights for millions of Americans.”
He introduced S. 3391, the Accountability for Better Care Act of 2025, on December 9, 2025; its text moves the end of the enhanced premium tax credits from the start of 2026 to the start of 2028. On December 10 he asked unanimous consent that it be passed, and an objection was heard (Congressional Record, page S8598). The next day he voted Yea on cloture on proceeding to S. 3386, a bill to give certain enrollees a health savings account contribution, and Nay on cloture on proceeding to S. 3385, a bill to extend the enhanced credit; both failed, 51 to 48 (Roll Calls 643 and 644).
Limit: The record bears out what his office describes: his bill, his request and the objection. It also shows that the next day he voted against beginning debate on a different bill to extend the same credits, which the release does not mention. A vote against proceeding to one bill is not a vote against extending the credits in every form.
Jon Husted
Data centers and electricity bills: the Ratepayer Protection Act
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His office says he introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act on July 16, 2026, that the act passed the House on September 16, 2026, by 417 to 3, and that on September 17 he brought it to the Senate floor seeking passage by unanimous consent, which was blocked.
“The Ratepayer Protection Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 16, 2026, by an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 417-3.”
“Reps. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.) and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) introduced the companion bill to the Ratepayer Protection Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
What the record shows ·
He introduced S. 5028, the Ratepayer Protection Act, on July 16, 2026; it was referred to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It would add a standard to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act under which rates for data-center customers with a peak demand of 100 megawatts or more recover the full, incremental cost of the generation, transmission and distribution upgrades needed to serve them, a standard state regulators must consider and decide whether to adopt. The bill the House passed on September 16 was the House companion, H.R. 9340, sponsored by Representative Gabe Evans, on a motion to suspend the rules and pass it as amended, 417 to 3 (Roll Call 312). Its 100-megawatt threshold and its full-cost standard appear word for word in the House bill as passed, though the two texts are not identical. On September 17, 2026 he asked unanimous consent that the Senate take up H.R. 9340 and pass it; an objection was heard (Congressional Record, pages S4775 to S4776). Neither bill has passed the Senate.
Limit: The House passed its own bill of the same name, not his. His office's July release says Representatives Evans and Castor introduced the House companion, so his office has not hidden the difference, but "the Ratepayer Protection Act passed the House" describes a different bill number with overlapping, not identical, text. When he sought Senate passage, the bill he asked the Senate to pass was the House one, so his office's use of the name follows how he treats the House bill himself.
Jon Husted
Voter ID: his bill
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His office says the Senate voted on his bill to require voters to show photo ID at the polls, and that it fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance, 52 to 46.
“The Senate today voted on Sen. Jon Husted’s (R-Ohio) bill to require voters to show photo ID at the polls.”
He introduced S. 5271 on August 5, 2026, to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require voters to provide photo identification. In the Senate sitting of August 7, 2026, which ran into August 8, he voted Yea on cloture on the motion to proceed to it; cloture was not invoked, 52 to 46 (Roll Call 231), so the bill was not debated.
Limit: The vote the Senate held was on whether to begin debate, and it needed 60 votes. His office describes it that way.
Jon Husted
School choice: EdChoice, while he was Speaker
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His Senate biography says that as Speaker of the Ohio House he expanded educational freedom for Ohio children through the creation of the EdChoice Scholarship.
“As Speaker, Husted expanded educational freedom for Ohio children through the creation of the EdChoice Scholarship.”
The Ohio House lists him as Speaker from 2005 to 2009. Amended Substitute House Bill 66 of the 126th General Assembly, the state budget effective June 30, 2005, lists him among its House cosponsors, and its enacted text adds section 3310.02 of the Revised Code: "The educational choice scholarship pilot program is hereby established." The section is still in force. As Speaker he voted Yea when the House agreed to the conference report on the bill on June 21, 2005, 53 to 46 (House Journal, page 1382).
Limit: The record shows the program created by a budget bill he cosponsored and voted for in his first year as Speaker. A state budget carries hundreds of provisions, so his cosponsorship and vote show support for the whole bill; what he did to put EdChoice into it is not recorded. The legislature's bill page records no votes online; the vote is in the House Journal. The same biography's claims that this budget was the most conservative in four decades and carried the largest income tax cut in Ohio's history are comparisons this desk did not test.
Jon Husted
Fundraising: the second quarter of 2026
No verdict
What they say
His campaign says he raised $7.7 million across all affiliated committees in the second quarter of 2026, bringing his cash on hand to more than $11 million.
“Jon Husted raised a campaign-record $7.7 million across all affiliated committees during the second quarter, more than doubling his first-quarter total and bringing his cash on hand to more than $11 million.”
His principal campaign committee, Husted for Senate, reported receipts of $260,995.17 for April 1 to 15 and $3,831,806.20 for April 16 to June 30, a total of $4,092,801.37, and cash on hand of $9,418,818.45 on June 30. Two joint fundraising committees raised money for him in the quarter. Husted Victory reported $3,219,278.53 in receipts. Team Husted reported $2,153,164.49 and passed $1,195,236.60 of it to his campaign, $513,005.51 to Ohio Flyer PAC and $151,205.93 to the NRSC. His leadership PAC, Jobs Opportunity Now PAC, reported $135,819.59. Counting each dollar once across those four committees, and leaving out what Team Husted passed to other groups, gives $7,736,850.87. Cash on hand across the six committees tied to him was $10,754,460.71 on June 30.
No filing shows how a joint fundraising committee splits its money among its members, so no single report gives the $7.7 million. Counted once across his four committees, the filings come to $7.74 million, in line with the claim. Cash on hand on June 30 was $10.75 million across all six, short of the "more than $11 million" claimed. The third-quarter reports, due October 15, show where the joint committees' money went next.
Limit: The six committees are his campaign committee, his nominee fund, his leadership PAC, Husted Victory, Team Husted and the Barrasso Husted Moody Fund. Cleveland Husted Victory registered on July 17, 2026, after the quarter. Other reasonable ways of counting give $7.31 million to $8.40 million. Whether the quarter more than doubled his first was not tested.
The same list records Greg Levy as filing on May 5, 2026, with a nonpartisan designation. All four were valid when the list was read on September 23, 2026; three write-in candidates filed on August 24.
Cuyahoga County's candidate list records Sherrod Brown, Jon Husted and William B. Redpath as filing for the United States Senate seat on February 4, 2026, for the unexpired term ending January 3, 2029.