Sherrod Campbell Brown is the senior
United States SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and a member of the
Democratic PartyThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. Before his election to the U.S. Senate, he was a member of the
United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, representing
Ohio's 13th congressional districtThe 13th congressional district of Ohio is represented by Representative Betty Sutton, who defeated Republican Craig L. Foltin on Nov. 7, 2006. It was formerly represented by Sherrod Brown...
from 1993 to 2007. He previously served as
Ohio Secretary of StateThe Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...
(1983–1991) and a member of the
Ohio House of RepresentativesThe Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....
(1974–1982).
Brown defeated two-term
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent
Mike DeWineRichard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
in the 2006 U.S. Senate election. In the U.S. Senate, he is chairman of the
Agriculture Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family FarmsTheU.S. Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Food and Agricultural Research is one of five subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.-Jurisdiction:...
and the
Banking Subcommittee on Economic PolicyThe Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
, and is also a member of the
Committee on AppropriationsThe United States Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate....
,
Committee on Veterans' AffairsThe United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs deals with oversight of United States veterans issues.-Members, 112th Congress:The Committee is chaired by Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, and the Ranking Member is Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina.Source: -Chairmen of the Senate...
, and
Select Committee on EthicsThe U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics is a select committee of the United States Senate charged with dealing with matters related to senatorial ethics. It is also commonly referred to as the Senate Ethics Committee...
.
Early life
Brown was born in
MansfieldMansfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Richland County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau, approximately southwest of Cleveland and northeast of Columbus....
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
to Emily Campbell and Charles Gailey Brown, M.D. He was named after his maternal grandfather. He became an
Eagle ScoutEagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
in 1967. He received a
Bachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in
Russian studiesRussian studies is a field of study first developed during the Cold War. It is an interdisciplinary field crossing history and language studies. It is closely related to Soviet and Communist studies...
from
Yale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1974. At Yale, he was in
Davenport CollegeDavenport College is one of the twelve residential colleges of Yale University. Its buildings were completed in 1933 mainly in the Georgian style but with a gothic façade. The college was named for John Davenport, who founded Yale's home city of New Haven, Connecticut...
, the same
residential collegeA residential college is an organisational pattern for a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship with the overall...
as U.S. Presidents
George H. W.George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
and
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. He went on to receive a
Master of Public AdministrationThe Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
degree and a
Master of ArtsA Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in
educationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
from the
Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in
ColumbusColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
in 1979 and 1981, respectively. He taught at the
MansfieldMansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....
branch campus of The Ohio State University from 1979 to 1981.
State politics
Brown served as an Ohio state senator from 1974 to 1982. He was one of the youngest state representatives in Ohio history, and supposedly, shortly after taking office, he was mistaken for an intern and asked to fetch coffee by a staffer. In 1982, he won a four-way Democratic primary that included
Dennis KucinichDennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
, now a Cleveland Congressman, then defeated
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Virgil Brown in the general election for the office of
Ohio Secretary of StateThe Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...
, succeeding
Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr.Anthony Joseph "Tony" Celebrezze Jr. was an American politician of the Democratic party, who served as Ohio Attorney General, Ohio Secretary of State and an Ohio State Senator. He was the son of Anthony J. Celebrezze Sr....
. In 1986, Brown won re-election as secretary of state, defeating Vincent C. Campanella. In 1990, Brown lost when trying for a third term as secretary of state to Republican
Bob TaftRobert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1992, Brown moved from Mansfield to
Lorain, OhioLorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....
and won the heavily contested Democratic primary for an open seat in
Ohio's 13th districtThe 13th congressional district of Ohio is represented by Representative Betty Sutton, who defeated Republican Craig L. Foltin on Nov. 7, 2006. It was formerly represented by Sherrod Brown...
, located in the western and southern suburbs of Cleveland, after eight-term incumbent
Don PeaseDonald J. Pease served eight terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio's 13th District, an area in northeast Ohio. He was a Democrat.- Education and early life :...
announced his retirement. The Democratic-leaning district gave him an easy win over the little known Republican Margaret R. Mueller. He was re-elected six times, never facing substantive opposition with the exception of during the
Republican landslide of 1994The Republican Revolution or Revolution of '94 is what the media dubbed Republican Party success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and a pickup of eight seats in the Senate...
when his opponent was a popular long-time local prosecutor.
Brown was the ranking minority member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee. He also served on the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. As a member of the House International Relations Committee, he also served on the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. He was a member of the
Congressional Progressive CaucusThe Congressional Progressive Caucus is the largest caucus within the Democratic caucus in the United States Congress with 83 declared members, and works to advance progressive issues and positions....
.
In 2001, the Republican-controlled legislature threatened to draw Brown's district out from under him. Brown threatened to run for governor in 2002 against incumbent
Bob TaftRobert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
. The Republicans backed down, and in fact made his district even more heavily Democratic by adding most of
AkronAkron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
and drawing out
GeaugaGeauga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 93,389. It is named for a Native American word meaning "raccoon". The county seat is Chardon...
and
PortagePortage County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 152,061 at the 2000 Census and 161,419 at the 2010 Census. Its county seat is Ravenna. Portage County is named for the portage between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers...
counties.
In 2005, Brown led the Democratic effort to block the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). For many months, Brown worked as
whipA whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
on the issue, securing Democratic "nay" votes and seeking Republican allies. After several delays, the House of Representatives finally voted on CAFTA after midnight on July 28, 2005 which resulted in passage by one vote.
2006 Senate campaign
In August 2005, Brown announced he would not run for the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seat held by Republican
Mike DeWineRichard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
. In October, however, Brown reconsidered his decision to enter the ring. This announcement came shortly after Democrat Paul Hackett also stated that he would soon announce his candidacy.
On February 13, 2006, Hackett withdrew from the race, all but ensuring that Brown would win the Democratic nomination. In the May 2 primary, Brown won 78.05% of the Democratic vote. His opponent, Merrill Samuel Keiser, Jr., received 21.95% of the vote.
In the middle of his Senate campaign in April 2006 Brown, along with
John ConyersJohn Conyers, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1965 . He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, brought an action against George W. Bush and others alleging violations of the
ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
in the passing of the
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the budget, that became law in 2006.-Legislative history:The Senate's version passed after a tie-breaking vote was cast by Vice President Dick Cheney. The bill passed the chamber with no Democrats and five Republicans...
. The case (
Conyers v. BushHonorable John Conyers, Jr., et al. v. George W. Bush, et al., No. 2:06-CV-11972, 2006 WL 3834224 , is a lawsuit in which Rep. John Conyers Jr. and others alleged that President George W...
) was ultimately dismissed for 'lack of standing'.
On November 7, 2006, Brown faced two-term
incumbentThe incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
senator
Mike DeWineRichard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
in the general election. Brown won the seat with 56% of the vote to DeWine's 44%.
Campaign Politics
Brown faced a tough challenge from Dewine in 2006. The campaign brought under scrutiny his vote against an emergency $87 billion spending plan in 2003 that included provisions for better armor and living conditions for U.S. soldiers as well as allegations of drug-dealing among his employees.
One of DeWine's ads, aired in October 2006, suggests that opponent Sherrod Brown did not pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years. This claim led to the Associated Press reporting on October 19, 2006 that, "Several Ohio television stations have stopped airing a Republican ad because state documents contradict the ad's accusation that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown didn't pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years." Brown has produced a commercial citing these facts. Citing a
clerical errorA clerical error is an error on part of an office worker, often a secretary or personal assistant. It is a phrase which can also be used as an excuse to deflect blame away from specific individuals, such as high powered executives, and instead redirect it to the more anonymous clerical staff.A...
, Brown actually paid the $1,700 bill, which was due in 1993, in April 1994. However, this clerical error made it appear as if he had not paid this bill.
Brown was the subject of a misunderstanding by
Rush LimbaughRush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
on his radio program on February 14, 2006. Commenting on Hackett's withdrawal from the Senate race the previous day, Limbaugh declared there was a racial element to that withdrawal, making that statement on the erroneous assumption that Brown was black. (Limbaugh apparently perceived "Sherrod" as a more common name among African-Americans than among whites.) He was corrected and withdrew his statement later in the same program.
2012 Senate Campaign
Senator Brown will come up for reelection in 2012. His likely opponent is
Josh MandelJosh Mandel is an American former Sierra Entertainment writer and designer of various computer games such as Space Quest 6 and Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist. He was the first person to voice King Graham, protagonist of the King's Quest series, in King's Quest V and King's Quest VI. In the...
, who has been described by some as a “rising GOP star” who in 2010, which was generally considered a good year for Republicans nationwide and in Ohio, defeated the incumbent appointed state treasurer by 14 points. Brown's opponent, Mandel, has been consistently criticized by the Ohio Democratic Party for refusing to file his legally required financial disclosure forms; the Democrats have given Mandel the epithet "Ohio's ethically challenged treasurer." . In 2011 Mandel had already raised $2.3 million in the second quarter of 2011 alone, to Brown’s $1.5 million. Currently Brown has a consistent lead in the polls.
Controversy
In March 2011, Brown came under controversy for a senate floor speech in which he cited the names of
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and
Joseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
while he criticized Republican efforts in Ohio and Wisconsin to mitigate the power of public employee unions to negotiate with state and local governments. In his speech he said "some of the worst governments that we've ever had, do you know one of the first things they did? They went after unions. Hitler didn't want unions, Stalin didn't want unions,
MubarakMuhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
didn't want independent unions". Brown, however, added that he was not comparing the two situations. He later apologized for his speech.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, Brown likened rooting for the Red Sox to rooting for drug companies. "I mean it's like they have so much money, they buy championships against the working-class, middle-America Cleveland Indians." The statement ruffled some Red Sox Nation members.
Political positions
In 2011, among the
National JournalNational Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...
’s annual rankings, Sherrod Brown tied with eight other members for the title of the most liberal member of Congress.
Iraq war
Brown has opposed the war in Iraq since voting against the Iraq Resolution as a House Representative. He voted against the $87 billion war budgetary supplement. He also voted for redeploying US troops out of Iraq by March 2008. In 2008, Sherrod Brown voted to appropriate funds for military matters of the
Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, equaling $99.65 billion for the fiscal year 2008, and $65.92 billion for the fiscal year 2009. The bill also extended unemployment compensation and provided education funding for veterans.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rights
Brown is a strong advocate of equal rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Americans. He opposed an amendment to Ohio's constitution that banned same sex marriage. Brown was also one of the few U.S. Representatives to vote against the then highly popular Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. He also voted against prohibiting same-sex couples from adopting children in Washington D.C., and received a perfect score from the
Human Rights CampaignThe Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
. On November 30, 2010 Brown made a contribution to the It Gets Better Project from the Senate floor, and on December 18, 2010 he voted in favor of the
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 is a landmark federal statute that establishes a legal process for ending the Don't ask, don't tell policy , which since 1993 prevented openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the United States Armed Forces.The Act did not immediately repeal the...
.
Economy
Sherrod Brown has been an open and frequent critic of international free trade. In 2011, the Columbus Dispatch noted that Brown “loves to rail against international trade agreements.” Brown's book,
Myths of Free Trade, details why "an unregulated global economy is a threat to all of us." He recommends adopting measures that would allow for emergency tariffs, protect Buy America laws, including those that give preference to minority and women-owned businesses, and hold foreign producers to American labor and environmental standards.
Brown is also the co-author and sponsor of a bill that would declare China a currency manipulator and require the Department of Commerce to impose countervailing duties on Chinese imports.
In 2009, when the vote on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act came down to just a few votes, Brown (an ardent advocate of the legislation) was attending services for his deceased mother. The White House provided a plane in order to fly him back to vote for the bill when it was determined that no commercial flight would make it on time. “Although most senators voted shortly after 5:30 p.m., the 60th and final vote was not cast until 10:46 p.m. by Sen. Sherrod Brown.”
Health care
In 2007 Senators Brown and
Sam BrownbackSamuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
(R-KS) sponsored an amendment to the
Food and Drug AdministrationThe Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
Amendments Act of 2007. President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
signed the bill in September 2007. The amendment created a prize as an incentive for companies to invest in new drugs and vaccines for neglected tropical diseases. It awards a transferable “
Priority Review VoucherThe priority review voucher is a prize awarded in the United States to the developer of a treatment for neglected diseases. The prize was proposed by Duke University faculty David Ridley, Henry Grabowski, and Jeffrey Moe in their 2006 Health Affairs paper: "Developing Drugs for Developing...
” to any company that obtains approval for a treatment for a neglected tropical disease. This provision adds to the market based incentives available for the development of new medicines for developing world diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and African sleeping sickness. The prize was proposed by
Duke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
faculty Henry Grabowski, Jeffrey Moe, and David Ridley in their 2006
Health Affairs paper: "Developing Drugs for Developing Countries."
Brown supported the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care ActThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
, voting for it in December 2009, and he voted for the
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 is a law that was enacted by the 111th United States Congress, by means of the reconciliation process, in order to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...
.
Family
Brown's wife,
Connie SchultzConnie Schultz , of Avon, Ohio, has been a nationally syndicated columnist based at The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. She won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for commentary and had been finalist for the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in feature writing....
, is a
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning journalist and former columnist at Cleveland's
The Plain Dealer newspaper. She is also the author of
Life Happens and
...and His Lovely Wife in which she describes her own experience with her husband's campaign as a feminist. Throughout her husband's political career Schultz has occasionally come under scrutiny for her position as a political reporter. In September, 2011, she was accused of playing politics for her husband while covering a Tea Party event for her column, when she started video recording her husband’s opponent, Josh Mandel, whom she did not cover in the column. Schultz later apologized in her column for giving “the appearance that I was covering Mandel for
The Plain Dealer.” The same month, Schultz resigned her post at the newspaper, citing a conflict of interest while her husband runs for re-election.
Brown's daughter Emily works for the
Service Employees International UnionService Employees International Union is a labor union representing about 1.8 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States , and Canada...
, daughter Elizabeth was an editorial assistant at New York Magazine and is currently a communication staff person for the Ohio House Democratic Caucus, and daughter Caitlin is currently performing a year of service with
City YearCity Year is an education-focused nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention keeping students in school and on track to graduate...
Rhode Island, an Americorps program. Stepson Andrew C. Gard is a doctoral student (Ph.D., Mathematics) at
Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. Brown's sister-in-law Anne M. Swanson is a communications attorney in Washington D.C. Brown and his family are
LutheransThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
. They reside in
Avon-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,446 people, 4,088 households, and 3,143 families residing in the city. The population density was 548.4 people per square mile . There were 4,291 housing units at an average density of 205.6 per square mile...
,
Lorain County, OhioLorain County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio, and is considered to be a part of what is locally referred to as Greater Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, its population was 301,356. an increase from 284,664 in 2000...
.
Books authored
Brown is the author of two books:
- Congress from the Inside: Observations from the Majority and the Minority ISBN 0-87338-630-2
- Myths of Free Trade: Why American Trade Policy Has Failed ISBN 1-56584-928-0
Committee assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate....
- Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
The Committee of Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of all matters relating to the nation's agriculture industry, farming programs, forestry and logging, and legislation relating to nutrition and...
- Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology
- Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support
- Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family Farms
TheU.S. Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Food and Agricultural Research is one of five subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.-Jurisdiction:...
(Chairman)
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has jurisdiction over matters related to: banks and banking, price controls, deposit insurance, export promotion and controls, federal monetary policy, financial aid to commerce and industry, issuance of redemption of notes,...
- Subcommittee on Economic Policy
The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
(Chairman)
- Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development
The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
- Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance
The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
- Subcommittee on Children and Families
The Senate Health Subcommittee on Children and Families is one of the three subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Health-Jurisdiction:The Subcommittee's jurisdiction includes Head Start, the Family Medical Leave Act, child care and child support, and other issues involving children, youth,...
- Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
The Senate Health Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety is one of the three subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Health-Jurisdiction:...
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
The United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs deals with oversight of United States veterans issues.-Members, 112th Congress:The Committee is chaired by Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, and the Ranking Member is Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina.Source: -Chairmen of the Senate...
- Select Committee on Ethics
The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics is a select committee of the United States Senate charged with dealing with matters related to senatorial ethics. It is also commonly referred to as the Senate Ethics Committee...
Electoral history
Sherrod Campbell Brown (born November 9, 1952) is the senior United States SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and a member of the Democratic PartyThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. Before his election to the U.S. Senate, he was a member of the United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, representing Ohio's 13th congressional districtThe 13th congressional district of Ohio is represented by Representative Betty Sutton, who defeated Republican Craig L. Foltin on Nov. 7, 2006. It was formerly represented by Sherrod Brown...
from 1993 to 2007. He previously served as Ohio Secretary of StateThe Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...
(1983–1991) and a member of the Ohio House of RepresentativesThe Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....
(1974–1982).
Brown defeated two-term RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent Mike DeWineRichard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
in the 2006 U.S. Senate election. In the U.S. Senate, he is chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family FarmsTheU.S. Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Food and Agricultural Research is one of five subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.-Jurisdiction:...
and the Banking Subcommittee on Economic PolicyThe Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
, and is also a member of the Committee on AppropriationsThe United States Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate....
, Committee on Veterans' AffairsThe United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs deals with oversight of United States veterans issues.-Members, 112th Congress:The Committee is chaired by Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, and the Ranking Member is Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina.Source: -Chairmen of the Senate...
, and Select Committee on EthicsThe U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics is a select committee of the United States Senate charged with dealing with matters related to senatorial ethics. It is also commonly referred to as the Senate Ethics Committee...
.
Early life
Brown was born in MansfieldMansfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Richland County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau, approximately southwest of Cleveland and northeast of Columbus....
, OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
to Emily Campbell and Charles Gailey Brown, M.D. He was named after his maternal grandfather. He became an Eagle ScoutEagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
in 1967. He received a Bachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Russian studiesRussian studies is a field of study first developed during the Cold War. It is an interdisciplinary field crossing history and language studies. It is closely related to Soviet and Communist studies...
from Yale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1974. At Yale, he was in Davenport CollegeDavenport College is one of the twelve residential colleges of Yale University. Its buildings were completed in 1933 mainly in the Georgian style but with a gothic façade. The college was named for John Davenport, who founded Yale's home city of New Haven, Connecticut...
, the same residential collegeA residential college is an organisational pattern for a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship with the overall...
as U.S. Presidents George H. W.George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
and George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. He went on to receive a Master of Public AdministrationThe Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
degree and a Master of ArtsA Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in educationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
from the Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in ColumbusColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
in 1979 and 1981, respectively. He taught at the MansfieldMansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....
branch campus of The Ohio State University from 1979 to 1981.
State politics
Brown served as an Ohio state senator from 1974 to 1982. He was one of the youngest state representatives in Ohio history, and supposedly, shortly after taking office, he was mistaken for an intern and asked to fetch coffee by a staffer. In 1982, he won a four-way Democratic primary that included Dennis KucinichDennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
, now a Cleveland Congressman, then defeated RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Virgil Brown in the general election for the office of Ohio Secretary of StateThe Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...
, succeeding Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr.Anthony Joseph "Tony" Celebrezze Jr. was an American politician of the Democratic party, who served as Ohio Attorney General, Ohio Secretary of State and an Ohio State Senator. He was the son of Anthony J. Celebrezze Sr....
. In 1986, Brown won re-election as secretary of state, defeating Vincent C. Campanella. In 1990, Brown lost when trying for a third term as secretary of state to Republican Bob TaftRobert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1992, Brown moved from Mansfield to Lorain, OhioLorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....
and won the heavily contested Democratic primary for an open seat in Ohio's 13th districtThe 13th congressional district of Ohio is represented by Representative Betty Sutton, who defeated Republican Craig L. Foltin on Nov. 7, 2006. It was formerly represented by Sherrod Brown...
, located in the western and southern suburbs of Cleveland, after eight-term incumbent Don PeaseDonald J. Pease served eight terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio's 13th District, an area in northeast Ohio. He was a Democrat.- Education and early life :...
announced his retirement. The Democratic-leaning district gave him an easy win over the little known Republican Margaret R. Mueller. He was re-elected six times, never facing substantive opposition with the exception of during the Republican landslide of 1994The Republican Revolution or Revolution of '94 is what the media dubbed Republican Party success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and a pickup of eight seats in the Senate...
when his opponent was a popular long-time local prosecutor.
Brown was the ranking minority member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee. He also served on the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. As a member of the House International Relations Committee, he also served on the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. He was a member of the Congressional Progressive CaucusThe Congressional Progressive Caucus is the largest caucus within the Democratic caucus in the United States Congress with 83 declared members, and works to advance progressive issues and positions....
.
In 2001, the Republican-controlled legislature threatened to draw Brown's district out from under him. Brown threatened to run for governor in 2002 against incumbent Bob TaftRobert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
. The Republicans backed down, and in fact made his district even more heavily Democratic by adding most of AkronAkron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
and drawing out GeaugaGeauga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 93,389. It is named for a Native American word meaning "raccoon". The county seat is Chardon...
and PortagePortage County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 152,061 at the 2000 Census and 161,419 at the 2010 Census. Its county seat is Ravenna. Portage County is named for the portage between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers...
counties.
In 2005, Brown led the Democratic effort to block the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). For many months, Brown worked as whipA whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
on the issue, securing Democratic "nay" votes and seeking Republican allies. After several delays, the House of Representatives finally voted on CAFTA after midnight on July 28, 2005 which resulted in passage by one vote.
2006 Senate campaign
{{Main|Ohio United States Senate election, 2006}}
In August 2005, Brown announced he would not run for the United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seat held by Republican Mike DeWineRichard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
. In October, however, Brown reconsidered his decision to enter the ring. This announcement came shortly after Democrat Paul Hackett also stated that he would soon announce his candidacy.
On February 13, 2006, Hackett withdrew from the race, all but ensuring that Brown would win the Democratic nomination. In the May 2 primary, Brown won 78.05% of the Democratic vote. His opponent, Merrill Samuel Keiser, Jr., received 21.95% of the vote.
In the middle of his Senate campaign in April 2006 Brown, along with John ConyersJohn Conyers, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1965 . He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, brought an action against George W. Bush and others alleging violations of the ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
in the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the budget, that became law in 2006.-Legislative history:The Senate's version passed after a tie-breaking vote was cast by Vice President Dick Cheney. The bill passed the chamber with no Democrats and five Republicans...
. The case (Conyers v. BushHonorable John Conyers, Jr., et al. v. George W. Bush, et al., No. 2:06-CV-11972, 2006 WL 3834224 , is a lawsuit in which Rep. John Conyers Jr. and others alleged that President George W...
) was ultimately dismissed for 'lack of standing'.
On November 7, 2006, Brown faced two-term incumbentThe incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
senator Mike DeWineRichard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
in the general election. Brown won the seat with 56% of the vote to DeWine's 44%.
Campaign Politics
Brown faced a tough challenge from Dewine in 2006. The campaign brought under scrutiny his vote against an emergency $87 billion spending plan in 2003 that included provisions for better armor and living conditions for U.S. soldiers as well as allegations of drug-dealing among his employees.
One of DeWine's ads, aired in October 2006, suggests that opponent Sherrod Brown did not pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years. This claim led to the Associated Press reporting on October 19, 2006 that, "Several Ohio television stations have stopped airing a Republican ad because state documents contradict the ad's accusation that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown didn't pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years." Brown has produced a commercial citing these facts. Citing a clerical errorA clerical error is an error on part of an office worker, often a secretary or personal assistant. It is a phrase which can also be used as an excuse to deflect blame away from specific individuals, such as high powered executives, and instead redirect it to the more anonymous clerical staff.A...
, Brown actually paid the $1,700 bill, which was due in 1993, in April 1994. However, this clerical error made it appear as if he had not paid this bill.
Brown was the subject of a misunderstanding by Rush LimbaughRush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
on his radio program on February 14, 2006. Commenting on Hackett's withdrawal from the Senate race the previous day, Limbaugh declared there was a racial element to that withdrawal, making that statement on the erroneous assumption that Brown was black. (Limbaugh apparently perceived "Sherrod" as a more common name among African-Americans than among whites.) He was corrected and withdrew his statement later in the same program.
2012 Senate Campaign
Senator Brown will come up for reelection in 2012. His likely opponent is Josh MandelJosh Mandel is an American former Sierra Entertainment writer and designer of various computer games such as Space Quest 6 and Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist. He was the first person to voice King Graham, protagonist of the King's Quest series, in King's Quest V and King's Quest VI. In the...
, who has been described by some as a “rising GOP star” who in 2010, which was generally considered a good year for Republicans nationwide and in Ohio, defeated the incumbent appointed state treasurer by 14 points. Brown's opponent, Mandel, has been consistently criticized by the Ohio Democratic Party for refusing to file his legally required financial disclosure forms; the Democrats have given Mandel the epithet "Ohio's ethically challenged treasurer." . In 2011 Mandel had already raised $2.3 million in the second quarter of 2011 alone, to Brown’s $1.5 million. Currently Brown has a consistent lead in the polls.
Controversy
In March 2011, Brown came under controversy for a senate floor speech in which he cited the names of Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Joseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
while he criticized Republican efforts in Ohio and Wisconsin to mitigate the power of public employee unions to negotiate with state and local governments. In his speech he said "some of the worst governments that we've ever had, do you know one of the first things they did? They went after unions. Hitler didn't want unions, Stalin didn't want unions, MubarakMuhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
didn't want independent unions". Brown, however, added that he was not comparing the two situations. He later apologized for his speech.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, Brown likened rooting for the Red Sox to rooting for drug companies. "I mean it's like they have so much money, they buy championships against the working-class, middle-America Cleveland Indians." The statement ruffled some Red Sox Nation members.
Political positions
In 2011, among the National JournalNational Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...
’s annual rankings, Sherrod Brown tied with eight other members for the title of the most liberal member of Congress.
Iraq war
Brown has opposed the war in Iraq since voting against the Iraq Resolution as a House Representative. He voted against the $87 billion war budgetary supplement. He also voted for redeploying US troops out of Iraq by March 2008. In 2008, Sherrod Brown voted to appropriate funds for military matters of the Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, equaling $99.65 billion for the fiscal year 2008, and $65.92 billion for the fiscal year 2009. The bill also extended unemployment compensation and provided education funding for veterans.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rights
Brown is a strong advocate of equal rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Americans. He opposed an amendment to Ohio's constitution that banned same sex marriage. Brown was also one of the few U.S. Representatives to vote against the then highly popular Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. He also voted against prohibiting same-sex couples from adopting children in Washington D.C., and received a perfect score from the Human Rights CampaignThe Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
. On November 30, 2010 Brown made a contribution to the It Gets Better Project from the Senate floor, and on December 18, 2010 he voted in favor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 is a landmark federal statute that establishes a legal process for ending the Don't ask, don't tell policy , which since 1993 prevented openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the United States Armed Forces.The Act did not immediately repeal the...
.
Economy
Sherrod Brown has been an open and frequent critic of international free trade. In 2011, the Columbus Dispatch noted that Brown “loves to rail against international trade agreements.” Brown's book, Myths of Free Trade, details why "an unregulated global economy is a threat to all of us." He recommends adopting measures that would allow for emergency tariffs, protect Buy America laws, including those that give preference to minority and women-owned businesses, and hold foreign producers to American labor and environmental standards.
Brown is also the co-author and sponsor of a bill that would declare China a currency manipulator and require the Department of Commerce to impose countervailing duties on Chinese imports.
In 2009, when the vote on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act came down to just a few votes, Brown (an ardent advocate of the legislation) was attending services for his deceased mother. The White House provided a plane in order to fly him back to vote for the bill when it was determined that no commercial flight would make it on time. “Although most senators voted shortly after 5:30 p.m., the 60th and final vote was not cast until 10:46 p.m. by Sen. Sherrod Brown.”
Health care
In 2007 Senators Brown and Sam BrownbackSamuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
(R-KS) sponsored an amendment to the Food and Drug AdministrationThe Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
Amendments Act of 2007. President George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
signed the bill in September 2007. The amendment created a prize as an incentive for companies to invest in new drugs and vaccines for neglected tropical diseases. It awards a transferable “Priority Review VoucherThe priority review voucher is a prize awarded in the United States to the developer of a treatment for neglected diseases. The prize was proposed by Duke University faculty David Ridley, Henry Grabowski, and Jeffrey Moe in their 2006 Health Affairs paper: "Developing Drugs for Developing...
” to any company that obtains approval for a treatment for a neglected tropical disease. This provision adds to the market based incentives available for the development of new medicines for developing world diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and African sleeping sickness. The prize was proposed by Duke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
faculty Henry Grabowski, Jeffrey Moe, and David Ridley in their 2006 Health Affairs paper: "Developing Drugs for Developing Countries."
Brown supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care ActThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
, voting for it in December 2009, and he voted for the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 is a law that was enacted by the 111th United States Congress, by means of the reconciliation process, in order to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...
.
Family
Brown's wife, Connie SchultzConnie Schultz , of Avon, Ohio, has been a nationally syndicated columnist based at The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. She won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for commentary and had been finalist for the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in feature writing....
, is a Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning journalist and former columnist at Cleveland's The Plain Dealer newspaper. She is also the author of Life Happens and ...and His Lovely Wife in which she describes her own experience with her husband's campaign as a feminist. Throughout her husband's political career Schultz has occasionally come under scrutiny for her position as a political reporter. In September, 2011, she was accused of playing politics for her husband while covering a Tea Party event for her column, when she started video recording her husband’s opponent, Josh Mandel, whom she did not cover in the column. Schultz later apologized in her column for giving “the appearance that I was covering Mandel for The Plain Dealer.” The same month, Schultz resigned her post at the newspaper, citing a conflict of interest while her husband runs for re-election.
Brown's daughter Emily works for the Service Employees International UnionService Employees International Union is a labor union representing about 1.8 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States , and Canada...
, daughter Elizabeth was an editorial assistant at New York Magazine and is currently a communication staff person for the Ohio House Democratic Caucus, and daughter Caitlin is currently performing a year of service with City YearCity Year is an education-focused nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention keeping students in school and on track to graduate...
Rhode Island, an Americorps program. Stepson Andrew C. Gard is a doctoral student (Ph.D., Mathematics) at Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. Brown's sister-in-law Anne M. Swanson is a communications attorney in Washington D.C. Brown and his family are LutheransThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
. They reside in Avon-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,446 people, 4,088 households, and 3,143 families residing in the city. The population density was 548.4 people per square mile . There were 4,291 housing units at an average density of 205.6 per square mile...
, Lorain County, OhioLorain County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio, and is considered to be a part of what is locally referred to as Greater Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, its population was 301,356. an increase from 284,664 in 2000...
.
Books authored
Brown is the author of two books:
- Congress from the Inside: Observations from the Majority and the Minority ISBN 0-87338-630-2
- Myths of Free Trade: Why American Trade Policy Has Failed ISBN 1-56584-928-0
Committee assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate....
- Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
The Committee of Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of all matters relating to the nation's agriculture industry, farming programs, forestry and logging, and legislation relating to nutrition and...
- Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology
- Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support
- Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family Farms
TheU.S. Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Food and Agricultural Research is one of five subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.-Jurisdiction:...
(Chairman)
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has jurisdiction over matters related to: banks and banking, price controls, deposit insurance, export promotion and controls, federal monetary policy, financial aid to commerce and industry, issuance of redemption of notes,...
- Subcommittee on Economic Policy
The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
(Chairman)
- Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development
The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
- Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance
The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
- Subcommittee on Children and Families
The Senate Health Subcommittee on Children and Families is one of the three subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Health-Jurisdiction:The Subcommittee's jurisdiction includes Head Start, the Family Medical Leave Act, child care and child support, and other issues involving children, youth,...
- Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
The Senate Health Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety is one of the three subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Health-Jurisdiction:...
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
The United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs deals with oversight of United States veterans issues.-Members, 112th Congress:The Committee is chaired by Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, and the Ranking Member is Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina.Source: -Chairmen of the Senate...
- Select Committee on Ethics
The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics is a select committee of the United States Senate charged with dealing with matters related to senatorial ethics. It is also commonly referred to as the Senate Ethics Committee...
Electoral history
Sherrod Campbell Brown (born November 9, 1952) is the senior United States SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and a member of the Democratic PartyThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. Before his election to the U.S. Senate, he was a member of the United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, representing Ohio's 13th congressional districtThe 13th congressional district of Ohio is represented by Representative Betty Sutton, who defeated Republican Craig L. Foltin on Nov. 7, 2006. It was formerly represented by Sherrod Brown...
from 1993 to 2007. He previously served as Ohio Secretary of StateThe Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...
(1983–1991) and a member of the Ohio House of RepresentativesThe Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....
(1974–1982).
Brown defeated two-term RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent Mike DeWineRichard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
in the 2006 U.S. Senate election. In the U.S. Senate, he is chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family FarmsTheU.S. Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Food and Agricultural Research is one of five subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.-Jurisdiction:...
and the Banking Subcommittee on Economic PolicyThe Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
, and is also a member of the Committee on AppropriationsThe United States Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate....
, Committee on Veterans' AffairsThe United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs deals with oversight of United States veterans issues.-Members, 112th Congress:The Committee is chaired by Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, and the Ranking Member is Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina.Source: -Chairmen of the Senate...
, and Select Committee on EthicsThe U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics is a select committee of the United States Senate charged with dealing with matters related to senatorial ethics. It is also commonly referred to as the Senate Ethics Committee...
.
Early life
Brown was born in MansfieldMansfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Richland County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau, approximately southwest of Cleveland and northeast of Columbus....
, OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
to Emily Campbell and Charles Gailey Brown, M.D. He was named after his maternal grandfather. He became an Eagle ScoutEagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
in 1967. He received a Bachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Russian studiesRussian studies is a field of study first developed during the Cold War. It is an interdisciplinary field crossing history and language studies. It is closely related to Soviet and Communist studies...
from Yale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1974. At Yale, he was in Davenport CollegeDavenport College is one of the twelve residential colleges of Yale University. Its buildings were completed in 1933 mainly in the Georgian style but with a gothic façade. The college was named for John Davenport, who founded Yale's home city of New Haven, Connecticut...
, the same residential collegeA residential college is an organisational pattern for a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship with the overall...
as U.S. Presidents George H. W.George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
and George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. He went on to receive a Master of Public AdministrationThe Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
degree and a Master of ArtsA Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in educationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
from the Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in ColumbusColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
in 1979 and 1981, respectively. He taught at the MansfieldMansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....
branch campus of The Ohio State University from 1979 to 1981.
State politics
Brown served as an Ohio state senator from 1974 to 1982. He was one of the youngest state representatives in Ohio history, and supposedly, shortly after taking office, he was mistaken for an intern and asked to fetch coffee by a staffer. In 1982, he won a four-way Democratic primary that included Dennis KucinichDennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
, now a Cleveland Congressman, then defeated RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Virgil Brown in the general election for the office of Ohio Secretary of StateThe Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...
, succeeding Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr.Anthony Joseph "Tony" Celebrezze Jr. was an American politician of the Democratic party, who served as Ohio Attorney General, Ohio Secretary of State and an Ohio State Senator. He was the son of Anthony J. Celebrezze Sr....
. In 1986, Brown won re-election as secretary of state, defeating Vincent C. Campanella. In 1990, Brown lost when trying for a third term as secretary of state to Republican Bob TaftRobert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1992, Brown moved from Mansfield to Lorain, OhioLorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....
and won the heavily contested Democratic primary for an open seat in Ohio's 13th districtThe 13th congressional district of Ohio is represented by Representative Betty Sutton, who defeated Republican Craig L. Foltin on Nov. 7, 2006. It was formerly represented by Sherrod Brown...
, located in the western and southern suburbs of Cleveland, after eight-term incumbent Don PeaseDonald J. Pease served eight terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio's 13th District, an area in northeast Ohio. He was a Democrat.- Education and early life :...
announced his retirement. The Democratic-leaning district gave him an easy win over the little known Republican Margaret R. Mueller. He was re-elected six times, never facing substantive opposition with the exception of during the Republican landslide of 1994The Republican Revolution or Revolution of '94 is what the media dubbed Republican Party success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and a pickup of eight seats in the Senate...
when his opponent was a popular long-time local prosecutor.
Brown was the ranking minority member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee. He also served on the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. As a member of the House International Relations Committee, he also served on the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. He was a member of the Congressional Progressive CaucusThe Congressional Progressive Caucus is the largest caucus within the Democratic caucus in the United States Congress with 83 declared members, and works to advance progressive issues and positions....
.
In 2001, the Republican-controlled legislature threatened to draw Brown's district out from under him. Brown threatened to run for governor in 2002 against incumbent Bob TaftRobert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
. The Republicans backed down, and in fact made his district even more heavily Democratic by adding most of AkronAkron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
and drawing out GeaugaGeauga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 93,389. It is named for a Native American word meaning "raccoon". The county seat is Chardon...
and PortagePortage County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 152,061 at the 2000 Census and 161,419 at the 2010 Census. Its county seat is Ravenna. Portage County is named for the portage between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers...
counties.
In 2005, Brown led the Democratic effort to block the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). For many months, Brown worked as whipA whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
on the issue, securing Democratic "nay" votes and seeking Republican allies. After several delays, the House of Representatives finally voted on CAFTA after midnight on July 28, 2005 which resulted in passage by one vote.
2006 Senate campaign
{{Main|Ohio United States Senate election, 2006}}
In August 2005, Brown announced he would not run for the United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seat held by Republican Mike DeWineRichard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
. In October, however, Brown reconsidered his decision to enter the ring. This announcement came shortly after Democrat Paul Hackett also stated that he would soon announce his candidacy.
On February 13, 2006, Hackett withdrew from the race, all but ensuring that Brown would win the Democratic nomination. In the May 2 primary, Brown won 78.05% of the Democratic vote. His opponent, Merrill Samuel Keiser, Jr., received 21.95% of the vote.
In the middle of his Senate campaign in April 2006 Brown, along with John ConyersJohn Conyers, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1965 . He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, brought an action against George W. Bush and others alleging violations of the ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
in the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the budget, that became law in 2006.-Legislative history:The Senate's version passed after a tie-breaking vote was cast by Vice President Dick Cheney. The bill passed the chamber with no Democrats and five Republicans...
. The case (Conyers v. BushHonorable John Conyers, Jr., et al. v. George W. Bush, et al., No. 2:06-CV-11972, 2006 WL 3834224 , is a lawsuit in which Rep. John Conyers Jr. and others alleged that President George W...
) was ultimately dismissed for 'lack of standing'.
On November 7, 2006, Brown faced two-term incumbentThe incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
senator Mike DeWineRichard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
in the general election. Brown won the seat with 56% of the vote to DeWine's 44%.
Campaign Politics
Brown faced a tough challenge from Dewine in 2006. The campaign brought under scrutiny his vote against an emergency $87 billion spending plan in 2003 that included provisions for better armor and living conditions for U.S. soldiers as well as allegations of drug-dealing among his employees.
One of DeWine's ads, aired in October 2006, suggests that opponent Sherrod Brown did not pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years. This claim led to the Associated Press reporting on October 19, 2006 that, "Several Ohio television stations have stopped airing a Republican ad because state documents contradict the ad's accusation that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown didn't pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years." Brown has produced a commercial citing these facts. Citing a clerical errorA clerical error is an error on part of an office worker, often a secretary or personal assistant. It is a phrase which can also be used as an excuse to deflect blame away from specific individuals, such as high powered executives, and instead redirect it to the more anonymous clerical staff.A...
, Brown actually paid the $1,700 bill, which was due in 1993, in April 1994. However, this clerical error made it appear as if he had not paid this bill.
Brown was the subject of a misunderstanding by Rush LimbaughRush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
on his radio program on February 14, 2006. Commenting on Hackett's withdrawal from the Senate race the previous day, Limbaugh declared there was a racial element to that withdrawal, making that statement on the erroneous assumption that Brown was black. (Limbaugh apparently perceived "Sherrod" as a more common name among African-Americans than among whites.) He was corrected and withdrew his statement later in the same program.
2012 Senate Campaign
Senator Brown will come up for reelection in 2012. His likely opponent is Josh MandelJosh Mandel is an American former Sierra Entertainment writer and designer of various computer games such as Space Quest 6 and Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist. He was the first person to voice King Graham, protagonist of the King's Quest series, in King's Quest V and King's Quest VI. In the...
, who has been described by some as a “rising GOP star” who in 2010, which was generally considered a good year for Republicans nationwide and in Ohio, defeated the incumbent appointed state treasurer by 14 points. Brown's opponent, Mandel, has been consistently criticized by the Ohio Democratic Party for refusing to file his legally required financial disclosure forms; the Democrats have given Mandel the epithet "Ohio's ethically challenged treasurer." . In 2011 Mandel had already raised $2.3 million in the second quarter of 2011 alone, to Brown’s $1.5 million. Currently Brown has a consistent lead in the polls.
Controversy
In March 2011, Brown came under controversy for a senate floor speech in which he cited the names of Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Joseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
while he criticized Republican efforts in Ohio and Wisconsin to mitigate the power of public employee unions to negotiate with state and local governments. In his speech he said "some of the worst governments that we've ever had, do you know one of the first things they did? They went after unions. Hitler didn't want unions, Stalin didn't want unions, MubarakMuhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
didn't want independent unions". Brown, however, added that he was not comparing the two situations. He later apologized for his speech.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, Brown likened rooting for the Red Sox to rooting for drug companies. "I mean it's like they have so much money, they buy championships against the working-class, middle-America Cleveland Indians." The statement ruffled some Red Sox Nation members.
Political positions
In 2011, among the National JournalNational Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...
’s annual rankings, Sherrod Brown tied with eight other members for the title of the most liberal member of Congress.
Iraq war
Brown has opposed the war in Iraq since voting against the Iraq Resolution as a House Representative. He voted against the $87 billion war budgetary supplement. He also voted for redeploying US troops out of Iraq by March 2008. In 2008, Sherrod Brown voted to appropriate funds for military matters of the Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, equaling $99.65 billion for the fiscal year 2008, and $65.92 billion for the fiscal year 2009. The bill also extended unemployment compensation and provided education funding for veterans.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rights
Brown is a strong advocate of equal rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Americans. He opposed an amendment to Ohio's constitution that banned same sex marriage. Brown was also one of the few U.S. Representatives to vote against the then highly popular Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. He also voted against prohibiting same-sex couples from adopting children in Washington D.C., and received a perfect score from the Human Rights CampaignThe Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
. On November 30, 2010 Brown made a contribution to the It Gets Better Project from the Senate floor, and on December 18, 2010 he voted in favor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 is a landmark federal statute that establishes a legal process for ending the Don't ask, don't tell policy , which since 1993 prevented openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the United States Armed Forces.The Act did not immediately repeal the...
.
Economy
Sherrod Brown has been an open and frequent critic of international free trade. In 2011, the Columbus Dispatch noted that Brown “loves to rail against international trade agreements.” Brown's book, Myths of Free Trade, details why "an unregulated global economy is a threat to all of us." He recommends adopting measures that would allow for emergency tariffs, protect Buy America laws, including those that give preference to minority and women-owned businesses, and hold foreign producers to American labor and environmental standards.
Brown is also the co-author and sponsor of a bill that would declare China a currency manipulator and require the Department of Commerce to impose countervailing duties on Chinese imports.
In 2009, when the vote on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act came down to just a few votes, Brown (an ardent advocate of the legislation) was attending services for his deceased mother. The White House provided a plane in order to fly him back to vote for the bill when it was determined that no commercial flight would make it on time. “Although most senators voted shortly after 5:30 p.m., the 60th and final vote was not cast until 10:46 p.m. by Sen. Sherrod Brown.”
Health care
In 2007 Senators Brown and Sam BrownbackSamuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
(R-KS) sponsored an amendment to the Food and Drug AdministrationThe Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
Amendments Act of 2007. President George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
signed the bill in September 2007. The amendment created a prize as an incentive for companies to invest in new drugs and vaccines for neglected tropical diseases. It awards a transferable “Priority Review VoucherThe priority review voucher is a prize awarded in the United States to the developer of a treatment for neglected diseases. The prize was proposed by Duke University faculty David Ridley, Henry Grabowski, and Jeffrey Moe in their 2006 Health Affairs paper: "Developing Drugs for Developing...
” to any company that obtains approval for a treatment for a neglected tropical disease. This provision adds to the market based incentives available for the development of new medicines for developing world diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and African sleeping sickness. The prize was proposed by Duke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
faculty Henry Grabowski, Jeffrey Moe, and David Ridley in their 2006 Health Affairs paper: "Developing Drugs for Developing Countries."
Brown supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care ActThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
, voting for it in December 2009, and he voted for the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 is a law that was enacted by the 111th United States Congress, by means of the reconciliation process, in order to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...
.
Family
Brown's wife, Connie SchultzConnie Schultz , of Avon, Ohio, has been a nationally syndicated columnist based at The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. She won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for commentary and had been finalist for the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in feature writing....
, is a Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning journalist and former columnist at Cleveland's The Plain Dealer newspaper. She is also the author of Life Happens and ...and His Lovely Wife in which she describes her own experience with her husband's campaign as a feminist. Throughout her husband's political career Schultz has occasionally come under scrutiny for her position as a political reporter. In September, 2011, she was accused of playing politics for her husband while covering a Tea Party event for her column, when she started video recording her husband’s opponent, Josh Mandel, whom she did not cover in the column. Schultz later apologized in her column for giving “the appearance that I was covering Mandel for The Plain Dealer.” The same month, Schultz resigned her post at the newspaper, citing a conflict of interest while her husband runs for re-election.
Brown's daughter Emily works for the Service Employees International UnionService Employees International Union is a labor union representing about 1.8 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States , and Canada...
, daughter Elizabeth was an editorial assistant at New York Magazine and is currently a communication staff person for the Ohio House Democratic Caucus, and daughter Caitlin is currently performing a year of service with City YearCity Year is an education-focused nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention keeping students in school and on track to graduate...
Rhode Island, an Americorps program. Stepson Andrew C. Gard is a doctoral student (Ph.D., Mathematics) at Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. Brown's sister-in-law Anne M. Swanson is a communications attorney in Washington D.C. Brown and his family are LutheransThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
. They reside in Avon-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,446 people, 4,088 households, and 3,143 families residing in the city. The population density was 548.4 people per square mile . There were 4,291 housing units at an average density of 205.6 per square mile...
, Lorain County, OhioLorain County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio, and is considered to be a part of what is locally referred to as Greater Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, its population was 301,356. an increase from 284,664 in 2000...
.
Books authored
Brown is the author of two books:
- Congress from the Inside: Observations from the Majority and the Minority ISBN 0-87338-630-2
- Myths of Free Trade: Why American Trade Policy Has Failed ISBN 1-56584-928-0
Committee assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate....
- Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
The Committee of Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of all matters relating to the nation's agriculture industry, farming programs, forestry and logging, and legislation relating to nutrition and...
- Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology
- Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support
- Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family Farms
TheU.S. Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Food and Agricultural Research is one of five subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.-Jurisdiction:...
(Chairman)
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has jurisdiction over matters related to: banks and banking, price controls, deposit insurance, export promotion and controls, federal monetary policy, financial aid to commerce and industry, issuance of redemption of notes,...
- Subcommittee on Economic Policy
The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
(Chairman)
- Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development
The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
- Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance
The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
- Subcommittee on Children and Families
The Senate Health Subcommittee on Children and Families is one of the three subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Health-Jurisdiction:The Subcommittee's jurisdiction includes Head Start, the Family Medical Leave Act, child care and child support, and other issues involving children, youth,...
- Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
The Senate Health Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety is one of the three subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Health-Jurisdiction:...
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
The United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs deals with oversight of United States veterans issues.-Members, 112th Congress:The Committee is chaired by Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, and the Ranking Member is Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina.Source: -Chairmen of the Senate...
- Select Committee on Ethics
The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics is a select committee of the United States Senate charged with dealing with matters related to senatorial ethics. It is also commonly referred to as the Senate Ethics Committee...
Electoral history
{{ushr|Ohio|13|}
}: Results 1992–2004
!|Year
!
!|Democrat
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|3rd Party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|3rd Party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|1992
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{nowrap|Sherrod Brown}}
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |134,486
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |53%
|
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{nowrap|Margaret R. Mueller}}
|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |88,889
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |35%
|
|{{Party shading/Independent}} |Mark Miller
|{{Party shading/Independent}} |IndependentIn politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |20,320
|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |8%
|
|{{Party shading/Independent}} |Tom Lawson
|{{Party shading/Independent}} |IndependentIn politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |4,719
|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |2%
| |*
|-
|1994
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Sherrod Brown
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |93,147
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |49%
|
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{nowrap|Gregory A. White}}
|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |86,422
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |46%
|
|{{Party shading/Independent}} |Howard Mason
|{{Party shading/Independent}} |IndependentIn politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |7,777
|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |4%
|
|{{Party shading/Independent}} |{{nowrap|John M.}} Ryan
|{{Party shading/Independent}} |IndependentIn politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |2,430
|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |1%
|
|-
|1996
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Sherrod Brown
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |148,690
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |61%
|
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{nowrap|Kenneth C. Blair, Jr.}}
|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |87,108
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |36%
|
|{{Party shading/Independent}} |David Kluter
|{{Party shading/Independent}} |Natural Law
|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |8,707
|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |4%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1998
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Sherrod Brown
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |116,309
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |62%
|
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{nowrap|Grace L. Drake}}
|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |72,666
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |38%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|2000
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Sherrod Brown
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |170,058
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |65%
|
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |Rick H. Jeric
|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |84,295
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |32%
|
|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} |Michael Chmura
|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} |LibertarianThe Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} align="right" |5,837
|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} align="right" |2%
|
|{{Party shading/Independent}} |David Kluter
|{{Party shading/Independent}} |Natural Law
|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |3,108
|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |1%
|
|-
|2002
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Sherrod Brown
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |123,025
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |69%
|
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |Ed Oliveros
|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |55,357
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |31%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|2004
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Sherrod Brown
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |201,004
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |67%
|
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |Robert LucasRobert Lucas is an American citizen who decided to run for the Republican party who was the party's 2004 nominee to challenge the long-term incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, who had served since 1992...
|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |97,090
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |33%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
{{s-end}}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ U.S. Senate (Class I) elections in Ohio: 2006 results
!|Year
!
!|Democrat
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|2006
|
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{nowrap|Sherrod Brown}}
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |2,257,369
|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |56%
|
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |Mike DeWineRichard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |1,761,037
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |44%
| |*
{{s-end}}
See also
- Ohio United States Senate elections
This is an incomplete list of elections for United States Senators from Ohio.Ohio is entitled to elect two senators to the United States Senate for six-year terms. These elections are staggered and Ohio's two senators are in election schedule classes 1 and 3. Bold type indicates victor. Italic type...
- Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 13th District
- List of United States Representatives from Ohio
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off|us}}
{{s-bef|before=Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr.Anthony Joseph "Tony" Celebrezze Jr. was an American politician of the Democratic party, who served as Ohio Attorney General, Ohio Secretary of State and an Ohio State Senator. He was the son of Anthony J. Celebrezze Sr....
}}
{{s-ttl|title=Ohio Secretary of StateThe Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...
|years=1983–1991}}
{{s-aft|after=Bob TaftRobert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{USRSB
|state=Ohio
|district=13
|before=Don PeaseDonald J. Pease served eight terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio's 13th District, an area in northeast Ohio. He was a Democrat.- Education and early life :...
|years=1993–2007
|after=Betty SuttonBetty Sue Sutton is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. She is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes most of the western and southern suburbs of Cleveland, and includes North Royalton, Akron, Lorain, Elyria, Strongsville, Avon and Cuyahoga Falls.-Early life and...
}}
{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{U.S. Senator box
|state=Ohio
|class=1
|before=Mike DeWineRichard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
|start=2007
|alongside=George VoinovichGeorge Victor Voinovich is a former United States Senator from the state of Ohio, and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served as the 65th Governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998, and as the 54th mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989.-Personal life:Born in Cleveland, Ohio, his father was...
, Rob PortmanRobert Jones "Rob" Portman is the junior United States Senator from Ohio. He is a member of the Republican Party. He succeeded retiring Senator George Voinovich....
}}
{{s-prec|usa}}
{{s-bef|before=Bernie SandersBernard "Bernie" Sanders is the junior United States Senator from Vermont. He previously represented Vermont's at-large district in the United States House of Representatives...
I-VermontVermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
}}
{{s-ttl|title=United States Senators by seniority |years=61st}}
{{s-aft|after=Bob Casey, Jr.Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Jr. is the senior U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served as Pennsylvania Treasurer, and Pennsylvania Auditor General. He is the son of former Governor Bob Casey, Sr..He is the first Democrat elected to a full term in...
D-PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
}}
{{end}}
{{USSenOH}}
{{OH-FedRep}}
{{Current U.S. Senators}}
{{Current Ohio statewide political officials}}
{{OHSecretaryofState}}
{{Persondata
|NAME=Brown, Sherrod
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Ohio politician
|DATE OF BIRTH=November 9, 1952
|PLACE OF BIRTH=Avon-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,446 people, 4,088 households, and 3,143 families residing in the city. The population density was 548.4 people per square mile . There were 4,291 housing units at an average density of 205.6 per square mile...
, OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
|DATE OF DEATH=living
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Sherrod}}