WVXU's Cincinnati Edition turned to a University of Cincinnati expert to learn more about why there is so much national interest in Ohio's U.S. Senate race.

UC College of Arts and Sciences Associate Professor David Niven told Cincinnati Edition host Lucy May that the race is key to which party controls the Senate in January. Incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown faces Republican challenger Bernie Moreno and Libertarian Don Kissick in the Nov. 5 general election. Four other candidates are waging write-in campaigns.

“Without Ohio, there is no chance Democrats will control the Senate,” Niven said.

Niven teaches political science in UC's School of Public and International Affairs.

Incumbents in the U.S. House of Representatives have a huge advantage in winning re-election. (Incumbents have won at least 85% of their races in even the worst years for incumbents over the last 60 years.)

That advantage is not as pronounced in the U.S. Senate, but it still plays a role, Niven said.

“Incumbency matters,” Niven said.

But Niven said challengers can use an incumbent's voting record to their advantage.

Niven was joined on the show by Karen Kasler, bureau chief for Ohio Public Media's Statehouse News Bureau, and Andrew Tobias, the state politics reporter for Signal Statewide.

Listen to the Cincinnati Edition episode.

Featured image at top: UC Professor David Niven talked to Cincinnati Edition about the hotly contested U.S. Senate race in Ohio. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand