**Sen. Sherrod Brown Attributes Election Loss to "Lies" and Negative Ads**

In a post-election reflection, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) attributed his defeat in the recent Ohio Senate race to what he claims were dishonest tactics and a barrage of negative advertisements. Brown, a long-serving senator since 2007, lost his reelection bid to Republican Bernie Moreno by a margin of over 3 percentage points, with Moreno securing 50.2% of the vote compared to Brown’s 46.4%.

During an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju, Brown expressed his disappointment, recounting the high levels of enthusiasm he witnessed among his supporters and at his rallies. Brown believed he had a strong chance of victory due to his connection with voters and his continuous engagement with them. However, he pinpointed several factors that he felt undermined his campaign, including the broader performance of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris, who was the Democratic presidential candidate, suffered significant losses, including in key swing states and the popular vote to President-elect Donald Trump. Brown linked his own downfall to the vice president’s poor performance, suggesting that her lagging behind nearly 12 points was insurmountable for his campaign.

Brown also highlighted the impact of a specific negative ad featuring Trump, in which the former president suggested that a vote for Brown was a vote against him. The senator conceded that this, along with the substantial financial backing of negative advertisements by his opponent, influenced the election outcome. Despite fact-checkers debunking the claims made in these ads, Brown noted their damaging effect.

The financial aspect of the election was also a critical point of discussion. Trump's campaign expended $378 million on advertising, whereas Harris’s campaign spent a remarkable $654 million, yet still failed to secure a win. Brown criticized the allocation and usage of funds during the election cycle, pointing to discrepancies in campaign promises and expenditures.

Addressing questions about whether Moreno conducted a fair campaign, Brown was skeptical. He encouraged Raju to evaluate the ads used in the campaign and draw his conclusions, hinting at a pattern of deceit by his opponent.

The defeat marked a significant shift in the Senate, with the Republicans gaining control for the first time in nearly four years, a change that Brown attributed to a combination of large-scale financing and a strategy based on misinformation.