Ohio Senate Race: Misleading Claims Against Sen. Sherrod Brown
Ohio voters have encountered a wave of advertisements, websites, and social media posts that inaccurately suggest Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown voted to cut Social Security. These assertions misrepresent Brown’s legislative record.
Brown is campaigning for a fourth term in the U.S. Senate, with car salesman Bernie Moreno as his Republican challenger.
Moreno’s campaign website features a section titled “Key Messaging Against Sherrod Brown,” alleging that Brown supported giving Social Security benefits to undocumented migrants, raising the retirement age, and reducing cost-of-living adjustments for retirees.
Similar claims have been circulated by major Republican groups. One Nation, a political action committee linked to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), aired a television ad claiming Brown voted to “give illegals Social Security benefits.” Additionally, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) released a memo accusing Brown of endorsing the Bowles–Simpson commission, which proposed increasing the retirement age and cutting Social Security to reduce the deficit.
During a 2012 debate, Brown was directly questioned about his stance on Bowles–Simpson and the possibility of raising the retirement age.
“I’ve spoken positively of Bowles–Simpson as a beginning place to negotiate, but I would not have voted for Bowles–Simpson exactly as it stood,” Brown stated. “The answer [on raising the retirement age] is no.”
Brown has actively supported his position. In 2010, he introduced a resolution against Social Security cuts as Bowles–Simpson was preparing its proposals. By 2012, he added his signature to a letter opposing the commission’s recommended cuts.
The claim regarding undocumented migrants stems from a 2013 vote where Brown opposed a Republican resolution aimed at preventing noncitizens from receiving federal health care benefits. As noncitizens were already ineligible for these benefits, the resolution was largely symbolic. Brown’s vote against it did not equate to supporting federal benefits for noncitizens.
In 2022, Brown introduced a resolution to reaffirm the Senate’s commitment to safeguarding Social Security benefits for future generations.
“Ohioans pay into Social Security with every paycheck, and they want to know they can count on it when they retire,” Brown emphasized. “That shouldn’t be partisan – Social Security is one of the most popular and most unifying institutions in the country. Ohioans should not have to worry with every election that politicians are going to try to take away the retirement they earned.”
A Morning Consult poll conducted in September showed Brown ahead of Moreno by two percentage points.
Brown’s campaign has received an endorsement from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
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