Obama Rallies Cleveland for Brown and Acton in First Ohio Trip Since 2018

Former President Barack Obama returned to Ohio on Saturday, October 24, 2026, and joined former Senator Sherrod Brown and gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton at a rally at Cleveland Public Auditorium. The visit was Obama's first campaign trip to Ohio since 2018, and it came ten days before the November 3 midterm elections.

"After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence, the likes of which we have not seen in modern times, you get a chance to say enough is enough," Obama told the crowd as he criticized President Donald Trump. "We are voting for change right here in Ohio."

Acton told the crowd that hope is what drives her campaign. "Because when we're in this together we can make life better for all Ohioans," she said.

Two races that could shift power

Brown, a former three-term senator, is trying to unseat Republican Senator Jon Husted. Husted was appointed to the seat in January 2025 after JD Vance resigned to become vice president, and the November 3 vote is a special election for the rest of Vance's term. Brown lost his seat to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024 and is now trying to win it back.

Acton, a former state health official, is running for governor against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. A win for Acton would put a Democrat in the Ohio governor's office for the first time since 2011.

Republicans hold the Senate by 53 seats to 47, and the Ohio race is one of a small group of contests that could decide which party controls the chamber. Brown attacked Husted over the spread of data centers in the state. "Jon Husted is the face of data centers. He led the charge to bring 226 data centers to our state," Brown said.

Republicans answer back

Amy Natoce, a spokesperson for the Husted campaign, pushed back on the rally. "The sight of Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama together again should send shivers down Ohioans' spines," she said. "The Brown-Obama duo gave us higher taxes, less jobs and wide open borders. Ohioans are ready to retire Sherrod Brown once and for all by electing Jon Husted on Nov. 3."

Democrats have struggled to win statewide office in Ohio since Trump and the Republican Party made inroads with voters there. Party leaders see an opening this year as Trump's approval rating drops and voters struggle with the cost of living, including high gas prices. Trump and Vice President JD Vance have both visited Ohio in recent weeks to support Husted and Ramaswamy.

Obama last campaigned in Ohio in 2018, when he came to Cleveland to support Richard Cordray in his race against Mike DeWine. After the Cleveland rally, Obama was scheduled to travel to Detroit, Michigan, later on Saturday to campaign for Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who faces former Representative Mike Rogers in another race that could shape control of the Senate.