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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" renacci_2/2eee30f7ca81fc3cb770c1ada2dabc38.jpg\\") ![](\\" renacci_2/ecdf5727d1ab84460d23940f6f3b25fb.jpg\\") Jim Renacci stated on July 10, 2018 in a press conference: Says Sherrod Brown \"votes 97 percent with Chuck Schumer, almost 95 plus percent with Elizabeth Warren.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-true/4ac7c61540eff5211f6a04d98a6bc93a.jpg.\\") ![\\"mostly- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * Ohio * Congress * Voting Record * Jim Renacci ![\\"Sen.](\\" Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, left, accompanied by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-- N.Y., gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2010. (AP) ![\\"Amy](\\" By Amy Sherman July 31, 2018 # Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown votes with Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer, Renacci says Ohio Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci says his Democratic opponent Sen. Sherrod Brown votes in step with Democratic leadership and liberals. Renacci held a July 10 press conference in Cincinnati to call for term limits. \"People start voting not for their state anymore but they start voting for their leadership,\" Renacci said. \"And we have seen that with our Sen. Sherrod Brown who votes 97 percent with Chuck Schumer, almost 95 plus percent with Elizabeth Warren.\" Renacci was referring to the voting records of Schumer, who is the Democratic Senate leader and represents New York, as well as Warren, who represents Massachusetts and is a potential 2020 presidential contender to challenge President Donald Trump. We found that Renacci is largely correct on the numbers but we will add some context. In recent years, the average senator voted with his or her party about 90 percent of the time when a majority of Democrats took a position different from a majority of Republicans, said Steven S. Smith, Washington University political science professor. \"In this context, a serious look at a senator’s record requires more digging. On what issues did the senator introduce legislation, offer amendments, address in public statements, or pursue on committee or in conference?\" Brown’s voting record Renacci’s campaign pointed to vote data compiled by Congressional Quarterly, which showed that Brown voted with Schumer 96 percent of the time between 2007 and 2018. For the comparison with Warren, who joined the Senate in 2013, the Renacci campaign pulled CQ data showing Brown voted the same as Warren about 94 percent of the time. We used ProPublica’s public database which provides head-to-head comparisons, and found similar results. So the numbers aren’t in dispute. We have fact-checked several previous claims that Democrats voted with former President Barack Obama or their party the vast majority of the time and generally rated them Mostly True if the numbers were on target. Most Democrats and Republicans largely vote with their respective party, but using only the statistic doesn’t tell the full story about a senator’s record. The straight-up vote comparisons here between three Democratic senators don’t tell the full story about Brown’s voting record, either. Brown’s campaign spokesman Preston Maddock pointed to some key votes on which Brown opposed Warren. For example, in 2014, Brown voted to adopt the conference report on the farm bill and was tapped by leadership to reconcile differences between the House and the Senate. Warren was among Senate Democrats who opposed any cuts to food stamps and voted against the legislation. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Bernie Moreno stated on August 20, 2024 in a campaign ad U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown voted to “give illegals taxpayer funded stimulus checks, health care, even Social Security.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Seth A. Richardson • September 4, 2024 In 2015, Brown voted to adopt the conference report to reauthorize federal transportation programs and renew the charter of the Export-Import bank. Under the bill, Brown said Ohio was set to receive an increase in money for highway and transit projects. Warren opposed the legislation because she said it rolled back rules that protect consumers and our financial system. In 2016, Brown voted for the 21st Century Cures Act, which authorized $1 bill to states to combat the opioid crisis. Warren said the bill was \"hijacked\" by the pharmaceutical industry and opposed it. Brown also voted for some of Trump’s nominees in 2017 whom Warren opposed, including Ben Carson to head up Housing and Urban Development and Wilbur Ross for commerce secretary. Brown supported U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer\'s confirmation, while Schumer opposed him. While Brown has criticized Trump on several fronts, Maddock pointed to some examples on which the Democratic senator has been in agreement with the president. For example, Brown supported the Interdict Act to make it easier for customs officials to block fentanyl from getting into the U.S. The law passed the Senate by unanimous consent. Trump signed the House version into law, while Brown was a cosponsor of the Senate version. U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, Ohio’s Republican senator, also backed the bill, and both Portman and Brown attended a signing ceremony for the new law at the White House. Brown and Trump also share some views on trade. Brown has said Trump’s order on raising imported steel will help stabilize steel jobs in Ohio. Experts say members often vote along party lines Experts told us that it’s no surprise that senators from the same party often vote the same. \"Democrats tend to vote with fellow Democrats, just as Republicans tend to vote with their party. The existence of parties and winner-take-all congressional primaries incentivizes party-line voting,\" University of Akron political science professor David Cohen said. The vote comparison among Democrats omits that the Senate reaches bipartisan consensus on some issues, for example, the recent unanimous vote in the Senate to express opposition to allowing the Russians to interrogate American diplomats, said University of Miami political science professor Gregory Koger. \"There may be a lot of issues on which Brown disagrees with Schumer and/or Warren that do not come to the Senate floor, so their roll call voting record may overstate their actual policy agreement,\" Koger said. Using the ProPublica database of votes, we found that Renacci voted the same as House Majority Leader Paul Ryan about 89 percent of the time. Our ruling Renacci said Brown \"votes 97 percent with Chuck Schumer, almost 95 plus percent with Elizabeth Warren.\" The numbers are largely correct and not in dispute. But it’s not unusual for members of the same party to vote together, and it doesn’t tell the full story about their voting record. We rate this claim Mostly True. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources YouTube, U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci press conference, July 10, 2018 ProPublica, Head-to-Head compare voting records, Accessed July 20, 2018 U.S. Senate, H.R. 2642 (Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013), Feb. 4, 2014 U.S. Senate, H.R. 22 (DRIVE Act), Dec. 3, 2015 Congress.gov, H.R.34 - 21st Century Cures Act, Dec. 13, 2016 became law Congress.gov, H.R.2142 - INTERDICT Act, Jan. 10, 2018 became law Congress.gov, S.708 - INTERDICT Act, March 23, 2017 White House, \"Remarks by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence and Bipartisan Members of Congress at Signing of H.R. 2142, INTERDICT Act,\" Jan. 10, 2018 Cleveland Plain Dealer, \"Who\'s the most bipartisan Ohioan in Congress? See how your member scored,\" April 25, 2018 Washington Post, \"Take it from two freshmen: Bipartisanship in Congress is possible,\" Nov. 17, 2011 The Hill, \"Senate passes farm bill 68-32,\" Feb. 5, 2014 Boston Globe, \"Warren opposes plan to speed new drugs; declares the bill was \'hijacked\' by pharmaceutical industry,\" Nov. 29, 2016 Agri-Pulse, \"Senate names farm bill conferees,\" Aug. 1, 2013 Sen. Elizabeth Warren press release, \"Senator Warren\'s Statement on the Fixing America\'s Surface Transportation Act,\" Dec. 3, 2015 STAT News, \"Elizabeth Warren rips 21st Century Cures bill and vows to fight it,\" Dec. 28, 2016 New York Times, \"How Each Senator Voted on Trump’s Cabinet and Administration Nominees,\" May 11, 2017 WKSU, \"Ohio Democratic Sen. Brown Supports Trump\'s Steel Tariffs,\" March 11, 2018 PolitiFact, \"Ohio Republican wrongly says Sherrod Brown likes communism,\" March 27, 2018 Interview, Leslie Shedd, U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci campaign spokeswoman, July 20, 2018 Interview, Preston Maddock, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown campaign spokesman, July 20, 2018 Interview, David B. Cohen, University of Akron political science professor, July 23, 2018 Interview, Gregory Koger, University of Miami political science professor, July 20, 2018 Interview, Steven S. Smith, Washington University in St. Louis political science professor, July 20, 2018 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Amy Sherman slide 4 to 6 of 15 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 22, 2024 in an Instagram post: There are nine states “where Biden’s name can’t be removed and no one can be added. That’s over 130 electoral votes in the toilet.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ranjan Jindal • July 23, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 17, 2024 in a campaign video: \"Unlike Mike Pence, (JD) Vance said he would have carried out Trump\'s plan to overturn the 2020 election.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • July 18, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kari Lake stated on July 16, 2024 in in a speech at RNC in Milwaukee: “Just last week, Ruben Gallego voted to let the millions of people who poured into our country illegally cast a ballot in this upcoming election.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • July 17, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview on NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\": A zero-tolerance policy during the Trump administration \"led to less family separation than under Kamala Harris\' border policies.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 26, 2024 in an interview with a podcaster: Vice President Kamala Harris “is a communist. … She is really a Marxist.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Rick Scott stated on August 28, 2024 in a post on X: “This month alone, more than 16,000 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls in 3 states.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 23, 2024 in a speech in Las Vegas: “Kamala cast the tiebreaking vote to hire 87,000 new IRS agents to go after your tip income.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • August 28, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on August 14, 2024 in a speech in California: Former President Donald Trump “cut overtime benefits for millions of workers.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 20, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Pete Buttigieg stated on August 11, 2024 in an interview on CNN State of the Union: Gov. Tim Walz delivered paid family leave in Minnesota but “Republicans are blocking” a Biden-Harris proposal. ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 16, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 8, 2024 in a press conference: Says his Jan. 6, 2021, speech on the White House Ellipse drew the “same number of people,” as the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • August 9, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 2, 2024 in a video: In Pompano Beach, Florida, Somali immigrants illegally in the U.S. were in line to get driver’s licenses and “all you need to vote is a driver\'s license.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 27, 2024 in a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota: During the 2020 Minnesota riots after George Floyd’s murder, Gov. Tim Walz didn’t call in the National Guard, “so, I sent in the National Guard to save Minneapolis.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 3, 2024 in a rally in Atlanta: Kamala Harris “supports mandatory gun confiscation.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 24, 2024 in a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina: Kamala Harris “wants to defund the police.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • July 30, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 24, 2024 in a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina: Kamala Harris “supported abolishing ICE.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • July 29, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 22, 2024 in an Instagram post: There are nine states “where Biden’s name can’t be removed and no one can be added. That’s over 130 electoral votes in the toilet.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ranjan Jindal • July 23, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 17, 2024 in a campaign video: \"Unlike Mike Pence, (JD) Vance said he would have carried out Trump\'s plan to overturn the 2020 election.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • July 18, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kari Lake stated on July 16, 2024 in in a speech at RNC in Milwaukee: “Just last week, Ruben Gallego voted to let the millions of people who poured into our country illegally cast a ballot in this upcoming election.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • July 17, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview on NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\": A zero-tolerance policy during the Trump administration \"led to less family separation than under Kamala Harris\' border policies.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 26, 2024 in an interview with a podcaster: Vice President Kamala Harris “is a communist. … She is really a Marxist.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Rick Scott stated on August 28, 2024 in a post on X: “This month alone, more than 16,000 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls in 3 states.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ### Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown votes with Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer, Renacci says * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: A video shows a body that Israel embedded with a bomb exploding during a Palestinian funeral procession. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a post: “ESPN has fired Shannon Sharpe.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Gideon Hess • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: Former President Donald Trump admitted during the Sept. 10 presidential debate that he “blew up the Nord Stream pipeline.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 10, 2024 in a Facebook post: Patron, Don Julio and Pink Whitney tequila recalled because they contained fecal matter. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 11, 2024 in a TV ad: Mike Rogers supported “laws that could eliminate IVF and birth control.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post: \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a Facebook post: ABC News fired presidential debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Yes on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s six-week abortion law has “no real exceptions. Not for her health. Not even for rape.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: Imagen muestra carnet del Partido Comunista de la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Maria Briceño • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Sam Brown stated on August 28, 2024 in a campaign appearance: Proposed Nevada constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights would put “essentially no limit on access to abortion.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. 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Says Sherrod Brown votes 97 percent with Chuck Schumer almost 95 plus percent with Elizabeth Warren