Sherrod Brown: Everything You Need to Know

What you need to know about the Ohio Senator.

By
ALI ROGIN
July 27, 2016, 4:29 PM ET
1 min read

— -- Name: Sherrod Campbell Brown

Party: Democrat

Date of Birth: Nov. 9, 1952

Age: 63

What He Does Now: U.S. Senator from Ohio

What He Used to Do: Before being elected to the Senate in 2006, Brown served in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2006. Prior to that he was Ohio’s secretary of state and also did a stint as a member of the Ohio State House of Representatives. He holds a B.A. in Russian Studies from Yale University and two master's degrees from Ohio State University.

Hometown: Mansfield, Ohio

Family Tree: Brown was married to Larke Recchie in 1979 -- they had two children together before divorcing in 1987. He later wed Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Connie Schultz in 2004 and has had two children with her. He and Schultz, who live in Cleveland, also now have both a daughter-in-law and son-in-law and five grandchildren.

Key Life/Career Moments:

  • A vocal progressive and fierce critic of trade deals, Brown staunchly opposed NAFTA, which President Bill Clinton signed into law, and wrote a book called “Myths of Free Trade: Why American Trade Policy Has Failed.”

    • What you might not know about him:

  • Is an Eagle Scout
  • Became the youngest person elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1974 (age 22)
  • Became the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Ohio since 1992
  • Was office neighbors with Clinton when they served together in the Senate, with their time in the Senate overlapping for two years before she became Secretary of State
  • Stayed neutral in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary

    • What He Has Said About Clinton:

  • 10/27/15, Politico: “From opposing unfair trade deals to fighting for a fair financial system, Hillary Clinton has shown she puts working families first. She knows as president that her first job will be creating jobs for the middle class. I am proud to endorse her today because I know she will keep Ohio moving forward."
  • 7/3, ABC: “When she was secretary of state, her boss was advocating a trade policy," he said, defending her 180-degree shift on TPP. "It was her boss.”
  • Also said he wished Bill hadn’t met with Loretta Lynch on the aiport tarmac: “I wish it hadn’t happened.”