I have watched Jon Husted for some time now. I find his political persona utterly repellent. He presents himself as a sober, moderate voice from the heartland. Nevertheless, his voting record reveals a deeply troubling reality. On September 24, the Senate considered a war powers resolution aimed at ending Trump’s War on Iran. That measure would have directed Trump to end it. The resolution failed by a single vote, 49 to 50. Husted was the fiftieth vote. He had told Politico just two days earlier that the war “needs to come to an end as quickly as possible”. Yet, when given the power to act, he refused. Consequently, he ducked reporters after the vote. This is not moderation; it is cowardice dressed in a suit. I see this as a profound betrayal of his constitutional duty. He chose party loyalty over the lives of Ohioans.
The Polls Tell a Story of Accountability and Disgust
The people of Ohio are beginning to see through this charade. Recent polling data confirms a decisive shift against Husted over Trump’s War on Iran. A Marist Poll released on October 20 shows Sherrod Brown leading Husted by four points, 48 to 44, among likely voters. Among independents, Brown enjoys a staggering fifteen-point advantage, 50 to 35. Furthermore, a BGSU survey found Brown ahead by six points, 48 to 42. A Cook Political Report battleground poll put Brown ahead 49 to 43. Meanwhile, Trump’s job approval in Ohio is upside down at 43 percent approve to 55 percent disapprove. Forty percent of likely voters say their ballot is mainly a vote against the president. These numbers are not merely horse-race trivia. They represent a public verdict on a failed senator. Husted lacks a genuine constituency; he is a vessel for party money.
The Strategic Folly of a War America Cannot Win
I have argued for decades that America’s true grand strategy should be offshore balancing. We should let regional powers balance each other. We should not expend American blood and treasure on quixotic crusades. Trump’s War on Iran is the exact opposite of this wisdom. I have called it a war we cannot win. I have said plainly that “we are a bunch of fools” for starting it. This is a war of attrition that has exhausted our military options.
The Pentagon is now preparing a possible three-day intensive strike package against Iran. Trump has ruled out an attack before the November 3 midterms. This is not strategy; it is electioneering masquerading as statecraft. Husted supported this folly repeatedly. The Cleveland Plain Dealer fact-check confirms he voted against withdrawal measures thirteen times. Each vote was a vote for a war that has strengthened Iran’s hand. Husted’s support for this disaster is strategically illiterate.
The Economic Carnage at Home and the Indifference of Elites
While Husted lectures us about strategic success, Ohio families are suffering. Trump’s War on Iran has sent energy and food costs soaring. Ohio’s average gasoline price rose from $2.89 per gallon in late February to $4.48 by late September. That is a 55 percent increase in just over six months. A Center for American Progress analysis found the war alone has cost Ohio residents an extra $1.77 billion in gasoline. That amounts to $365 more per household. Diesel prices have reached record highs nationally. Husted claims he wants to lower gas prices. However, his votes have done nothing but prolong the war that is inflating those prices. I find this combination of rhetoric and reality utterly contemptible. He has said the war is going “much better” than expected. He is insulated from the consequences of his choices. The people of Ohio are not.
The Lobby, the War, and the Abdication of Independent Judgment
I have also written extensively about the Israel lobby’s pernicious influence on American foreign policy. Trump’s War on Iran was not thrust upon us by an imminent threat. Instead, it was the product of pressure from Israel and its powerful American supporters. Husted has aligned himself with this agenda. He has refused to articulate an independent American interest. Instead, he parrots talking points about the Strait of Hormuz and nuclear weapons. These are pretexts. The real objective is to wreck Iran for the benefit of a foreign power. Husted’s loyalty is not to Ohio; it is to the lobby that owns his party. He had a chance to break with this destructive consensus and had a chance to vote for the war powers resolution. He refused. This is the pathology of a captured politician. It is a disgraceful abdication of independent judgment.
A Referendum on Realism and the Restoration of American Restraint
The Ohio Senate race is a referendum on Trump’s War on Iran. Sherrod Brown has hammered Husted for his votes, and he promises to make ending the war a first priority. I do not agree with Brown on many things. Nevertheless, on this specific issue, the contrast is clear. Husted is the candidate of endless war and foreign-policy failure. I believe the American people are waking up to this reality. The midterm elections are an opportunity to reject the architects of this catastrophe. I hope the voters of Ohio send a clear message. They should retire Jon Husted from public life. His record of complicity is a stain on the Senate. It is time for a foreign policy rooted in realism, restraint, and a genuine regard for the American national interest. Husted has demonstrated none of these virtues. He deserves a decisive defeat.