The 2012 United States Senate election in Ohio took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican Josh Mandel, the Ohio State Treasurer. Brown was unopposed in the Democratic primary while Mandel won the Republican primary with 63% of the vote.
Josh Mandel was endorsed by Rob Portman, U.S. Senator (R-OH); Jim DeMint, U.S. Senator (R-SC); Jim Jordan, U.S. Congressman (R-OH); Club for Growth; National Rifle Association of America; Tea Party Express; John McCain, U.S. Senator (R-AZ); Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator (R-FL); Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey; Afghanistan & Iraq Veterans for Congress (AIVC); Buckeye Firearms Association National Right to Life Committee; Ohio Right to Life; and National Federation of Independent Business
U.S. Representative Sherrod Brown defeated two-term incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mike DeWine 56%-44% in the 2006 election. Over the next six years, he established a very progressive, and populist record. The National Journal named Brown the most liberal U.S. Senator in the past two years. The Washington Post called him a "modern-day Paul Wellstone." One article said "Brown is way to the left of Ohio in general, but probably the only person who could outwork Brown is Portman." Brown is the only candidate the 60 Plus Association targeted in the 2012 election cycle.
Mandel, 34, was elected state treasurer in 2010. Before that, he was a Lyndhurst City Councilman and Ohio State Representative. He was criticized as Ohio Treasurer for not fulfilling his pledge to serve a four-year term and for not attending any of the Board of Deposit monthly meetings. However, Mandel raised a lot of money. He was called a rising star in the Republican Party and was called "the rock star of the party." He was also compared to Marco Rubio.
Mandel's campaign was singled out by the independent fact-checking group Politifact for its "casual relationship with the truth" and its tendency to "double down" after inaccuracies were pointed out. The fact-checking group wrote: "For all the gifts Mandel has, from his compelling personal narrative as an Iraq war veteran to a well-oiled fundraising machine, whoppers are fast becoming a calling card of his candidacy."
Mandel raised $7.2 million through the first quarter of 2012. He had $5.3 million cash on hand, trailing Brown's $6.3 million. However, Mandel benefited from massive support from conservative out-of-state superPACs, which raise unlimited amounts of money from anonymous donors. These outside groups, including Crossroads GPS, aired over $60 million in TV advertising supporting Mandel and attacking Brown, outspending Democratically aligned outside groups by more than five-to-one. Mandel's campaign was aided by over $1 million spent primarily on attack ads by a 501(c)(4) organization called the Government Integrity Fund. The group was funded by anonymous donors and run by lobbyist Tom Norris of Columbus, Ohio-based Cap Square Solutions.
Brown was endorsed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Columbus Dispatch, the Toledo Blade, the Youngstown Vindicator, The Cincinnati Enquirer, and the Akron Beacon-Journal.
Mandel was endorsed by the Warren Tribune-Chronicle and the Marietta Times.
Democratic primary<br />
Republican primary<br />
General election<br />
Brown won six of 16 congressional districts, including two that elected Republicans to the House.
Official campaign websites