Ohio 2026 Elections
The November 3, 2026 general election is an unusually open cycle for Ohio: every statewide executive office is open at once (term limits), a U.S. Senate special election is on the ballot, control of the Ohio Supreme Court is contested, and a mid-decade remap has reshaped the U.S. House battlegrounds. The primary was May 5, 2026.
The slate at a glance
- Governor: Ohio 2026 Governor Race — Vivek Ramaswamy (R) vs. Amy Acton (D), open seat (Mike DeWine term-limited).
- U.S. Senate (special): Ohio 2026 U.S. Senate Race — Jon Husted (R) vs. Sherrod Brown (D), for JD Vance's former seat.
- Attorney General: Ohio 2026 Attorney General Race — Keith Faber (R) vs. John Kulewicz (D), open (Dave Yost term-limited).
- Secretary of State: Ohio 2026 Secretary of State Race — Robert Sprague (R) vs. Allison Russo (D), open (Frank LaRose running for Auditor).
- Supreme Court: Ohio 2026 Supreme Court Election — Jennifer Brunner (D) vs. Colleen O'Donnell (R), plus a second (Republican-held) seat. Court is 6–1 Republican.
- U.S. House battlegrounds: Ohio's 9th Congressional District (2026) (Kaptur–Merrin rematch) and Ohio's 1st Congressional District (2026) (Landsman), both made redder by redistricting.
- Also open but not yet detailed here: State Auditor and State Treasurer.
The issues on the ballot
The races are the vehicle; these are the stakes they decide — one page each:
- LGBTQ+ Rights in Ohio — the gender-affirming-care ban (HB 68) and school "bathroom" law (SB 104), now before the courts and the legislature.
- Reproductive Rights in Ohio — a voter-approved right contested by officeholders.
- Healthcare in Ohio — Medicaid coverage on the line, maternal mortality, rural hospital closures.
- Education Politics in Ohio — SB 1, vouchers on trial, school funding, and the "Parents' Bill of Rights."
- Housing and Cost of Living in Ohio — a shortage of affordable homes, rising evictions, and preempted tenant tools.
- Property Taxes in Ohio — the valuation surge and the relief fight (abolition pushed to 2027).
- Energy and Utilities in Ohio — the HB 6 / FirstEnergy corruption cleanup and who pays for the grid.
- Environment and Climate in Ohio — East Palestine, fracking in state parks, and the H2Ohio cut.
- Cannabis Policy in Ohio — Issue 2 legalization and the legislature's rewrite.
- Guns and Firearms Policy in Ohio — deregulation, preemption, and the court fight over local gun laws.
- Immigration and the Springfield Story (Ohio) — Springfield's Haitian community and the 2024 disinformation episode.
- Media, Local News, and Disinformation in Ohio — news deserts, pink slime, and the Springfield playbook.
- Public Health as a Political Stake (Ohio), Labor and Working-Class Politics in Ohio, Manufacturing in Ohio, and the Economy and Material Stakes (Ohio) as the material baseline.
Why it matters
Two national stakes (U.S. Senate and House control) intersect with a concrete state arena where Election Administration in Ohio, court balance, and map-drawing power are all on the ballot at once.
Sources
- 2026 Ohio gubernatorial election — Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-07-03)
- 2026 United States Senate special election in Ohio — Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-07-03)
- Ohio Redistricting Commission unanimously passes congressional map furthering GOP advantage — Ohio Capital Journal (retrieved 2026-07-03)
- Rating the New Ohio congressional map (Sabato's Crystal Ball) — UVA Center for Politics (retrieved 2026-07-03)
- 2025 Year in Review: Ohio gets another new congressional map — Statehouse News Bureau (retrieved 2026-07-03)
- 2026 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio — Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-07-03)