How Many Ohio House Seats Will Democrats Win in 2026

President Donald Trump held a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, urging supporters to back Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jon Husted against Democrat Sherrod Brown and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy against Democrat Amy Acton ahead of the November midterms. Speaking at the Covelli Centre, Trump framed the races as a choice to "Put Ohio First" and asked attendees to treat the contests as if he were personally on the ballot. He also announced federal assistance for SOBE Thermal Energy Systems and disclosed that Cleveland will host a new 46,000-square-foot U.S. Navy submarine component repair facility, crediting Husted with securing the project. Jon Gruden introduced Trump, with boxer Jake Paul also appearing.

A new co/efficient poll of 925 likely Ohio voters, taken Oct. 5-6, found both races within the margin of error: Ramaswamy led Acton 45%-43% in the governor's race, while Husted led Brown 44%-43% in the Senate contest, a special election to fill the seat J.D. Vance vacated. Analysts continue to rate both races as toss-ups.

Ohio's first day of in-person early voting saw turnout jump sharply compared with the 2022 midterms, even as absentee ballot requests have fallen well below both 2022 and 2018 levels. Statewide, 42,868 votes were cast on the first day, with in-person early voting up 138% across 77 counties tracked by The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com. Cuyahoga County saw a 249% increase and Hamilton County a 175% increase, with similar surges in smaller counties. Meanwhile, absentee ballot requests are down about 18% from 2022 and 14% from 2018, a decline seen in both Republican- and Democratic-leaning areas.

Political scientists attribute much of the shift to President Trump's efforts to restrict mail voting, which may be pushing Democrats toward in-person voting out of concern their ballots won't count, while also discouraging some Republicans who have heard Trump's criticism of mail balloting. Ohio's competitive U.S. Senate race between Jon Husted and Sherrod Brown, and governor's race between Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton, are also driving interest. Analysts caution it's too early to draw firm conclusions about November's outcome from early turnout data alone.

Democrat Amy Acton and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy are courting rural Ohio voters ahead of the Nov. 3 governor's race to succeed term-limited Mike DeWine, with the Cook Political Report ranking the contest a toss-up. In Marietta, Acton proposed a three-year moratorium on new fracking injection wells over groundwater fears, winning praise from a local Republican official. Both candidates have also targeted data centers, with Ramaswamy pushing a plan requiring tech companies to cover residents' electricity bills, halt non-disclosure agreements, and build only on pre-zoned industrial land rather than farmland, while Acton wants data center projects to prove they can cover utility costs and use union labor before proceeding.

The race has grown notably hostile, including an incident in which an armed man charged toward Acton at a campaign stop, injuring bystanders. Acton has refused to debate Ramaswamy, accusing him of lying and attacking her family, though she remains open to forums. Early voting began Oct. 6, with polling showing Acton holding a narrow lead. Other close Ohio contests include U.S. House races in the 7th and 9th districts.

President Donald Trump made his third October campaign stop in Ohio, rallying supporters in Chillicothe ahead of the November 3 midterms. Joined by Sen. Bernie Moreno, Trump backed Sen. Jon Husted, who faces former Sen. Sherrod Brown in a tight special election for the seat JD Vance vacated, and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who faces Democrat Amy Acton. Trump criticized Democratic economic policy and touted Ohio data-center growth while urging turnout.

Democrats countered with their own events, including a Cincinnati rally featuring Acton and Brown, following a Cleveland appearance where former President Barack Obama campaigned alongside them. Early voting is already underway statewide.

Ohio legislative leaders are scrambling to reconvene lawmakers next week to vote on a proposal from Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy to suspend the state's gas and diesel taxes for 90 days amid surging fuel prices. House Speaker Matt Huffman and Senate President Rob McColley, Ramaswamy's running mate, said their chambers plan to return around Sept. 30, though the effort to secure enough votes and lawmaker attendance was still in flux. The plan, unveiled Monday, would suspend Ohio's 38.5-cents-per-gallon gas tax and 47-cents-per-gallon diesel tax, at a cost of roughly $640 million covered by ODOT reserves, the general fund, and potentially the state's rainy-day fund.

Passing it with immediate effect requires a two-thirds "emergency clause" vote, meaning some Democratic support is needed in the House. Gov. Mike DeWine, who previously blocked a similar moratorium, has not committed to signing it. Critics have called the timing—weeks before the Nov. 3 election, with Ramaswamy facing a competitive race against Amy Acton—politically motivated.

Ohio legislative leaders are working to bring the House and Senate back into session next week, an unusual move that would come about a week before early voting begins for the Nov. 3 general election. The push follows a gas-tax proposal from Vivek Ramaswamy, unveiled shortly after a less detailed plan from Democratic rival Amy Acton, and would mark a rare instance of state lawmakers intervening directly in a competitive gubernatorial race so close to Election Day. Statehouse veterans say the maneuver lacks recent precedent in Ohio politics.

Separately, Ohio lawmakers have introduced four competing bills to regulate Flock license plate reader cameras after voters raised privacy concerns, with proposals ranging from penalizing officer misuse to largely shutting down camera networks. In federal court, a judge declined to grant the Ohio Democratic Party an injunction that would have let it spend unlimited funds on statewide candidates from its general political fund while a state contribution-limit law is challenged. Nationally, Vice President JD Vance announced the removal of roughly 750,000 people believed fraudulently enrolled in ACA plans, while potential 2028 GOP rivals begin positioning against him.

Fundraising in Ohio's 2026 governor's race has topped $30 million so far this year, according to campaign finance reports filed Aug. 6 covering January through July. Democrat Amy Acton raised $16.5 million and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy raised $14.4 million in 2026, with a majority of funds from both campaigns coming from in-state donors. Both candidates have already broken historical fundraising marks for their parties: Acton's $22 million total since launching her campaign surpasses the previous Democratic record of $16.8 million set by Richard Cordray in 2018, while Ramaswamy's overall haul of more than $50 million — including a $25 million self-funded contribution and $5 million from Elon Musk — dwarfs Gov. Mike DeWine's 2018 record of $24 million.

Acton drew support from roughly 274,600 individual donors, 57% from Ohio, while Ramaswamy's nearly 278,000 donors included 16.5% from the state. Both candidates also saw significant out-of-state support from California, Texas and Florida. Ohioans vote for their next governor on Nov. 3.

Ohio's 2026 governor's race could shape how the state's voter-approved reproductive-rights amendment is implemented, since the governor appoints health officials, directs funding, and decides how vigorously to defend abortion restrictions in court. Democrat Amy Acton supports abortion rights and pledges to protect the 2023 amendment while expanding access to contraception and IVF, though she has offered few policy specifics. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who did not respond to questions, has previously called himself "unapologetically pro-life" and backed six-week abortion bans during his 2024 presidential run, but has not detailed an Ohio agenda. Libertarian Don Kissick opposes both abortion bans and government efforts to expand abortion access, arguing government should stay out of the issue entirely.

Ohio's Nov. 3 ballot features a high-profile governor's race between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton, Ohio's former pandemic-era health director, in a contest that could end two decades of GOP control. Republican Sen. Jon Husted faces former Sen. Sherrod Brown in a toss-up race with national implications for Senate control. Voters will also decide Issue 3, which would enshrine Ohio's photo ID voting requirement in the state constitution, plus races for attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer and state supreme court seats.

Locally, Columbus voters weigh two competing city charter amendments (Issues 8 and 9) that would reshape how City Council members are elected, while Franklin County-area communities decide school levies, bond issues and charter changes.

Ohio's Republican-controlled legislature convened a special session and passed a bill suspending the state's 38.5-cent-per-gallon gas tax for 90 days, funded through the general fund surplus rather than road-project money, addressing Gov. Mike DeWine's earlier concerns. The Legislative Service Commission estimates average drivers could save up to $55 over the suspension period.

Republicans used procedural moves to keep debate limited to the gas tax bill, blocking Democratic attempts to introduce broader affordability measures, including utility bill relief, a bigger child tax credit, a larger homestead exemption, and a resolution urging President Trump to end the war in Iran, which Democrats blame for rising fuel prices. Democrats also proposed redirecting sports-stadium funds, including money earmarked for the Cleveland Browns' Brook Park stadium, toward consumer relief, and pushed for a data center moratorium sought by advocacy group Conserve Ohio. Senate President Rob McColley said such issues risked derailing the gas tax bill. Democrats call the tax holiday an election-year move benefiting Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who trails Amy Acton in polling.