Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) is set to launch a comeback Senate bid in Ohio next year, multiple outlets are reporting, months after he was ousted by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R).

Cleveland.com, Politico and Axios reported Brown’s plans on Monday, though the former senator had yet to officially launch his campaign. 

The only Democrat elected to Ohio statewide office in the past decade, Brown’s Senate candidacy could be a chance for the party to gain back ground in the upper chamber during next year’s midterms. 

He’d be challenging Sen. Jon Husted (R), who was appointed to the post by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine earlier this year after JD Vance left the Senate to become vice president.

Next year’s special election will decide who fills the remainder of Vance’s term. The winner would need to run again in 2028 to snag a full term.

Brown’s decision also ends speculation that he could run for governor to replace term-limited DeWine next year.

The Democrat was first elected to the Senate in 2006 and won comfortably in 2012 and 2018, before narrowly losing his reelection bid by about 3.5 points to Moreno last year. At the top of the ticket, former Vice President Kamala Harris lost the state by 11 points to President Trump.

Axios reported last week that Brown had been interviewing campaign managers for the race. And last month, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had reportedly stopped by Chicago to meet with Brown amid chatter about a potential comeback bid.

“Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are so desperate they’ve recycled a liberal loser,” said Nick Puglia, a regional press secretary for Republicans’ Senate campaign arm.  “Ohioans just rejected Sherrod Brown and they’ll do it again in 2026.”

Cook Political Report rates the Ohio seat as “likely Republican,” a step down from being solidly in the GOP column.

Updated at 3 p.m. EDT.