Sherrod Brown earned his seventeenth endorsement from the Columbus Dispatch, marking the newspaper’s first endorsement of a Democrat for U.S. Senate in decades.

The endorsement by the Dispatch, which endorsed Mitt Romney for President this cycle, Josh Mandel for state Treasurer in 2010, John Kasich for Governor in 2010 and Sherrod’s opponent Sen. Mike DeWine for Senate in 2006, notes Brown’s tireless efforts to go to bat for Columbus on issues that matter for the region:

“Brown has been helpful in improving the road connections around the Rickenbacker Intermodal Facility and in fixing a glitch in the federal health-care overhaul that would have denied Nationwide Children’s Hospital a federal discount on 347 drugs needed to treat seriously ill children. … he has been a vigorous defender and promoter of Ohio businesses trying to gain a foothold in overseas markets. For example, he went to bat for a Hilliard pipe manufacturer after Mexico tried to exclude the company’s products. Brown also has been part of bipartisan efforts to stop the Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.”

Sherrod Brown has now earned the endorsements of all seven major Ohio newspapers.

The following newspapers have all endorsed Sherrod’s reelection:  Akron Beacon Journal, Athens News, Sun News, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Toledo Blade, Youngstown Vindicator, Elyria Chronicle Telegram, Lima News, Cincinnati City Beat, Ohio University Post, Mansfield News Journal, Marion Star, Cincinnati Herald, Cincinnati Enquirer, Canton Repository, Newark Advocate and Columbus Dispatch.