Jon Husted

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton toured the Youngstown Business Incubator and rallied in Liberty, stressing ties to Mahoning and Trumbull counties ahead of Election Day against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. Acton has repeatedly addressed a Ramaswamy-backed ad featuring her estranged mother, calling her a liar and alleging mental health issues; Gov. Mike DeWine called it exploitative. Both candidates are closing with pitches on Ohio's affordability crisis, with Ramaswamy touting his business background and property-tax executive orders, and Acton emphasizing public-service experience, a working families tax cut, and school funding.

Ramaswamy has self-funded and outspent Acton nearly $80 million to $34 million overall, though Acton has outraised him recently; both have shattered Ohio's gubernatorial fundraising record, and neither has held elected office before. Democrats are banking on a late push, including a Cleveland rally with Barack Obama and expanded early voting, as prediction markets show Acton favored heading into Election Day.

Ohio voters on Nov. 3 will pick a successor to term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine, with Republican Vivek Ramaswamy facing Democrat Amy Acton and Libertarian Don Kissick. The same ballot includes a special U.S. Senate election to fill the remainder of JD Vance's term, pitting incumbent appointee Jon Husted against challengers; the winner serves until 2028. All 15 Ohio U.S. House seats are also up, under a new Republican-favorable congressional map targeting Democratic-held districts. In Kentucky, Republican Andy Barr and Democrat Charles Booker are competing for the seat long held by retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell. Indiana will re-elect its House delegation, and ballot measures appear in all three states.

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'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.

President Trump has repeatedly praised Sen. Jon Husted's (R-Ohio) physique at campaign rallies, drawing attention to the closely watched Ohio Senate race. Trump made detailed remarks about Husted's build during stops in Youngstown and Greenville, North Carolina, prompting Husted to respond lightheartedly, saying the comments motivated him to keep up his gym routine. Husted, a former University of Dayton football player, credited his athletic family background.

The exchange has added an unusual media moment to a race seen as pivotal for Senate control, with Husted facing Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown. Polling has shown Brown with a narrow lead over Husted in the contest.

Barack Obama rallied Democrats in Cleveland, campaigning with Senate candidate Sherrod Brown and gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton days before the midterms. He condemned Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy's ad featuring Acton's estranged mother, which attacks her over childhood abuse and homelessness, calling it a sign of declining political decency. Trump and JD Vance have defended the ad despite criticism from Ohio Republicans including Gov. Mike DeWine. Obama also faulted Trump for rising costs and White House renovations. He later campaigned in Detroit for Abdul El-Sayed against Mike Rogers, with Michigan's governor, attorney general, and secretary of state races also on the ballot. Obama is next slated to campaign in Georgia for Jon Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Vivek Ramaswamy's Ohio gubernatorial campaign continued a statewide bus tour even as a $4 million ad featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Dr. Amy Acton drew bipartisan condemnation. The ad's subject, Donna Arthur, has not seen Acton since 1978; Acton has said her mother lost custody after her stepfather was indicted for raping her as a child. Every living Ohio governor, Democrat and Republican, has criticized the ad, and Gov. Mike DeWine urged Ramaswamy to pull it, while President Trump and JD Vance have defended it.

At a bus tour stop in suburban Cincinnati, Republican attendees largely shrugged off the controversy, citing concerns about border security and socialism instead. Running mate Rob McColley countered that Acton's campaign had run misleading ads against Ramaswamy. A lone protester, Ramaswamy's former junior high teacher, demonstrated outside calling for a retraction and apology.

Democrats Sherrod Brown and Amy Acton hold leads over their Republican opponents in two new Ohio surveys ahead of the Nov. 3 election. A Fox News poll shows Brown ahead of Sen. Jon Husted 52%-47% among likely voters, while Cook Political Report has Brown up 49%-43%. In the governor's race, Fox finds Acton leading Vivek Ramaswamy 50%-48%, with Cook showing a wider 49%-44% margin. Economic concerns and Trump's job approval, underwater in Fox's poll, favor Democrats, while Husted and Ramaswamy draw strength from men and voters citing stable finances. The Senate race has become the cycle's most expensive, with over $422 million in ad spending tracked.