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Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio claimed he lost reelection because Republicans “rigged the system” during a heated interview on CNN Thursday.

Businessman Bernie Moreno defeated Brown, a three-term senator, Nov. 5 by a 50.2% to 46.6% margin. Brown alleged Republicans “rigged the system” after complaining about ads on transgender issues, including one featuring Vice President Kamala Harris which discussed how she pushed “behind the scenes” for transgender prisoners to receive sex changes while she was attorney general of California. (RELATED: Transgender Activist Says Trying To Stop Men From Using Women’s Restrooms Will Be ‘Last Mistake You Ever Make’)

“They lie about it and they put — in this case, they — they spent $40 million on 8 different ads on that issue,” Brown argued, later adding. “They weren’t talking about how to make Ohio a better state. They’re not doing their job on education. They’re not doing their job on health care. They’re not doing their job on creating jobs.”

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After CNN reporter Manu Raju pointed out the campaign was successful and Republicans won the election, Brown responded with his claims.

“Yeah, but they’re winning elections in part because they — they’ve rigged the system. They’ve made it harder to vote,” Brown asserted. “They’ve changed ballot language in a draconian, in a dramatic way with the last election. They did that with abortion rights. It didn’t work in that case.”

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Brown bristled when Raju asked if Democrats were “out of touch” with Americans on the issues.

“Yes, they spent all this money on you — against you — you guys. One, are you out of touch on those issues? Two, should you guys have done a better job in pushing back?” Raju asked.

“I’m not out of touch on those issues,” Brown responded. “I go home, I hear people all the time. I know how they focus group and they lie. I mean, how do you call me out of touch when they lie about an issue?”

President-elect Donald Trump won Ohio with 55.2% of the vote compared to 43.9% for Harris. Republicans gained a total of four Senate seats in the 2024 election, including those of Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Independent Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

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