CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown announced Friday he will vote against confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's pick for the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a statement, Brown said he was "convinced Judge Kavanuagh would side with special interests over working people and threaten the rights of Ohioans."

"Special interests already have armies of lobbyists and lawyers on their side. Working people need justices who will put their rights first, not justices who will side with insurance companies over cancer survivors, financial scammers over customers, or massive corporations over American workers," Brown said.

Brown's statement comes a few days after he met with Kavanaugh, a federal appellate judge who previously worked in the George W. Bush administration. Ohio's other senator, Republican Sen. Rob Portman, is one of Kavanaugh's most ardent supporters.

A Senate confirmation vote for Kavanuagh has been set for early September.

Brown's decision is unsurprising, since Brown is among the most liberal members of the U.S. Senate, and Kavanaugh's confirmation would lock in a solid conservative majority on the court, potentially for decades. But it has the potential to have an impact in Brown's re-election campaign.

Brown has tried to represent himself as a principled Trump opponent, but someone who is willing to work with the president on areas of agreement. Brown's Republican opponent, Wadsworth Rep. Jim Renacci, meanwhile has tried to paint Brown as a partisan obstructionist in a state that solidly supported Trump in the 2016 election.

In a statement, Renacci said: "No one is surprised that one of the most liberal senators who votes in lock-step with Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer would vote against yet another of President Trump's Supreme Court justices. After voting for 100 percent of President Obama's judicial nominees, Brown is now putting party loyalty ahead of doing what's right. Judge Kavanaugh is a thoughtful, experienced jurist who will make an excellent Supreme Court justice. Once again, Sherrod Brown is proving he's completely out of touch with Ohioans and far too liberal to represent Ohio in the Senate."