Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) “has hired a former communications aide to manage his 2024 reelection campaign, a major formal step toward preparing for what’s expected to be one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

“Matt Dolan, who lost a raucous Republican Senate primary in Ohio last year, will run again in 2024, this time seeking to unseat longtime Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown,” NBC News reports.

“Brown has said he intends to seek a fourth term next year. Dolan, a state senator whose family owns the Cleveland Guardians, would likely be the first candidate on the GOP side to officially declare. Other Republicans closely looking at the race include Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Bernie Moreno, a businessman who briefly was a Senate candidate in 2022.”

Columbus Dispatch: “Unlike last time, Dolan isn’t waiting around. He’s jumping into the race early to give himself more time to reach voters, and he can leverage personal wealth to keep his campaign alive until the March 2024 primary. His announcement will also come weeks before Gov. Mike DeWine unveils his next budget, which will occupy Dolan’s time in the statehouse as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.”

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced he will seek a fourth term in 2024, Spectrum News reports.

“I have the privilege to concede this race to J.D. Vance, because the way this country operates is that when you lose an election you concede and you respect the will of the people.”

— Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), conceding his U.S. Senate race last night.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) endorsed Rep. Tim Ryan (D) over J.D. Vance (R) in the Ohio Senate race, the latest sign of just how far the one-time member of House GOP leadership has fallen out with the Trump-dominated wing of her party, The Hill reports.

A new Siena poll in Ohio finds J.D. Vance (R) and Tim Ryan (D) deadlocked in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 46%.

“National Democrats are heaping praise on their nominee for U.S. Senate in Ohio, lauding Rep. Tim Ryan’s spirited debate performances, his outside-the-box television ads, his aggressive campaign schedule and his robust fundraising,” the Washington Post reports.

“But they’re not spending big money in his race — prompting Ryan and his allies to complain that national party strategists involved with funding decisions are falling to adequately fund his unexpectedly competitive campaign against Republican J.D. Vance for a seat the GOP is hoping to hold onto in November.”

“J.D., you keep talking about Nancy Pelosi. If you want to run against Nancy Pelosi move back to San Francisco and run against Nancy Pelosi.”

— Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Tim Ryan (D), in opening minutes of tonight’s debate with J.D. Vance (R).

A new USA Today/Suffolk University poll in Ohio finds J.D. Vance (R) has opened a narrow edge over Tim Ryan (D) in the Senate race, 47% to 45%.

Last month, Ryan led 47% to 46% though both findings are within the survey’s 4.4 percentage-point margin of error. 

“A weekend fundraiser for Ohio U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance was abruptly canceled Friday after Spectrum News notified the Vance campaign it would report the host is one of several Ohio pain doctors cited in a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and others for the amount of opioids they prescribed and the amount of money they received from major drug companies,” Spectrum News reports.

“Democrats across Ohio are pleading for help in the state’s Senate contest, afraid they may lose a winnable election unless national party leaders make major investments in the coming days,” the AP reports.

“So far, the most powerful groups in Democratic politics have prioritized Senate pickup opportunities in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania over Ohio, once a perennial swing state that veered right in the Trump era. But on the eve of the 2022 midterms, some public polls suggest Ohio is as competitive as the other swing states, leaving many Democrats here wondering why their party isn’t backing Senate contender Tim Ryan more forcefully.”

A new Emerson College/The Hill poll in Ohio finds J.D. Vance (R) edging Tim Ryan (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 45% with 9% still undecided.

“I don’t know anybody I grew up with, I don’t know anybody I went to high school with, that would allow somebody to take their dignity like that and then get back up on stage. We need leaders who have courage to take on their own party, and I’ve proven that. And he was called an ass-kisser by the former president.”

— Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), in his Senate debate last night with J.D. Vance (R).

“Democrats are increasingly fearful that they are squandering a chance to flip a Senate seat in Ohio — a state that once seemed off the map but, according to polls, remains close four weeks from Election Day,” NBC News reports.

“Although the Republican, Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance, has struggled to raise money, national groups have propped up his campaign by pouring in more than $30 million worth of advertising.”

“The lopsided funding has unnerved Democrats in Ohio and across the country, according to interviews with a dozen party leaders and operatives. Many worry that Democrats will regret not doing more to try to pull Ryan ahead of Vance, a right-wing ally of former President Donald Trump.”

Ohio U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance’s (R) non-profit “left only the faintest mark” on Ohio, leaving behind a pair of op-eds and two tweets, the New York Times reports.

“Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), who has made his opponent’s questionable record fighting the opioid epidemic a central theme of his campaign for Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat, has accepted campaign donations over the years from drug distributors blamed for key roles in the crisis,” the AP reports.

A new Spectrum News/Siena College poll in Ohio finds Tim Ryan (D) leading J.D. Vance (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 43%.

The poll shows Ryan leading Vance in two crucial voting blocks that will help decide this race: Support from independents (47% to 35%) and women voters (54% to 34%).

For comparison, the FiveThirtyEight polling average shows a dead heat.