Ohio 2026 races shape up as Trump, Vance work to shore up Republican favorability in Ohio

As this year’s elections heat up in Ohio, President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance are working to bolster Republican favorability in the Buckeye State and beyond.

Vance recently returned to Ohio to tout Trump’s accomplishments and energize voters ahead of this year’s midterms.

Recent polls have suggested a tight gubernatorial race, and at least one poll shows that Democrats may hold an advantage in the race, which is all but guaranteed to pit high-profile Ohio native and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy against Amy Acton, the state’s former public health director, who resigned from the role in August 2020 after less than two years and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting many conservatives to criticize her, saying she was not a good fit for governor because she couldn’t handle a less stressful role.

Even though Ramaswamy must navigate a Republican primary, the general election appears to be underway as the Ramaswamy and Acton campaigns have stepped up their criticisms of each other.

Acton previously attacked Ramaswamy for saying that Medicaid was a mistake, claiming that since he is a billionaire, he doesn’t care about Americans who need these kinds of medical programs. Ramaswamy also criticized Acton – primarily calling her “Dr. Lockdown” for implementing pro-lockdown policies during 2020 as the Director of the Ohio Department of Health.

Acton has seized on Ramaswamy’s perceived missteps, including when he proposed the “year-round school” concept and almost gave a speech at a tech-industry event, but canceled the speech and forced the organization to remove any mention of him from the website after a clip of a previous speaker criticizing Trump resurfaced online.

Ramaswamy, who was initially popular with voters, is trailing Acton in a poll by Emerson College. Additionally, earlier this week, Ramaswamy announced his departure from social media platforms, at least while he is running for governor.

Endorsements Roll In

Trump, the Ohio Republican Party, former Republican candidate Treasurer Robert Sprague, and other Ohio officials previously endorsed Ramaswamy.

Republican Attorney General Dave Yost also dropped out of the race. However, he did not endorse Ramaswamy, going so far as to say that the Ohio Republican Party’s endorsement of Ramaswamy was a mistake.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who initially withheld support, later endorsed Ramaswamy after the candidate publicly moderated his tone and selected Senate President Rob McColley as his running mate. Acton also announced her Lt. governor mate, former Democratic Party chair, David Pepper.

The Ramsawamy campaign raised almost $20 million in 2025, while Acton raised only about $4 million from July 31, 2025, to Jan. 27, 2026, Signal Ohio reported.

The Race for U.S. Senate

In another high-profile race, former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is challenging U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio.

Husted, who has seized opportunities to tell potential voters that Trump endorsed him, became Brown’s target when it comes to affordability, claiming that Husted never did anything for Ohioans while being in office. However, Brown has his own three-decade record of doing nothing to help while in Washington, D.C.

High-Profile U.S. House Races

Additionally, several high-profile races for the U.S. House could tip the balance of power in Washington.

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, who has faced criticism for voting against ending the most recent government shutdown, is facing three Republican challengers: state Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania-Twp., former state Rep. Derek Merrin, and former ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan.

While the Trump-backed Merrin promised to force the America First agenda, ensure border security, cut taxes, and protect “our freedoms,” the less politically established Williams specifically went after Kaptur, saying that she’s been in Washington, D.C., for a very long time without helping regular Ohioans. Sheahan talked about deportations, claiming that she deported more illegal immigrants while working at ICE than Kaptur did while working in the Senate.

In another race, nurse practitioner and Air Force veteran Kristina Knickerbocker is running as a Democrat to replace incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio.

Former Brook Park City councilman Brian Poindexter, former Cuyahoga County Executive and Lakewood Mayor Ed Fitzgerald, attorney Michael Eisner, and former Bay Village School Board President Scott Schultz will fight for the Democratic nomination in the primary. The winner will face U.S. Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio.

Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O’Neill will also run as a Democrat, challenging U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio.

Even though most of these congressional districts have been historically “safe” for Republicans, it may not be the case anymore. According to the Cook Political Report, Democrats are currently rated ahead of Republicans in several Ohio House districts.