Sherrod Brown turns to California for fundraising to win Ohio Senate seat

Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is California Dreaming.

Brown, who served in the U.S. Senate from 2007 until 2025, held a fundraiser on Monday, Sept. 14, in the San Francisco area. Brown faces off against Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted in November and is one of the Democrats’ top targets as the party seeks to regain control of the U.S. Senate in 2026.

The event benefited the Ohio Grassroots Victory Fund. According to Federal Election Commission data, Ohio Grassroots Victory Fund joint fundraising participants are the Ohio Democratic Party, America Works Federal PAC and Friends of Sherrod Brown.

Democratic Senate candidates Josh Turek + Sherrod Brown are hitting the Bay Area for fundraising next month, per invites. #IASen #OHSen pic.twitter.com/6XqFMZGgnV

— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) August 17, 2026

“Shady Sherrod Brown is running for Senate in Ohio, but you’d never know it from how much time he spends courting coastal elitists in California,” RNC Spokesman Hunter Lovell said in a statement.

“With 50 days until Election Day, Brown is once again thousands of miles from hardworking Ohioans, begging his far-left, liberal California friends for support,” Lovell added. “Ohio families don’t deserve this washed-up, radical leftist masquerading as a champion of Ohio values.”

It’s not the first time the former federal lawmaker has faced criticism for cozying up to West Coast liberals. As a career politician with a 50-year voting track record, Brown’s comeback tour and populist rebranding are attracting bipartisan backlash amid campaign finance disclosures.

In 2023, following the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Brown fundraised in Hollywood, Fox News reported at the time. In June, Brown appeared at a Democratic Women’s Club event in Santa Barbara and later attended a fundraiser in Hope Ranch as part of his campaign.

In recent social media posts, Brown framed the race as a “fight,” while declaring he would “take on the billionaires and corporations that are screwing you over.” However, more than 40 billionaire donors have personally donated roughly $870,000 to Brown, including the Pritzker family, Bill, Rory, and Melinda Gates, George Soros, and members of the Rockefeller family, each donating the maximum personal limit.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted to the seat, which Vice President JD Vance vacated. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to reclaim the chamber, making Ohio one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.