Topic
Ohio 2026 State Auditor Race
An open race for Auditor of State — Ohio's watchdog over public money and, less visibly, the holder of a seat on the Ohio Redistricting Commission — between Republican Frank LaRose (the term-limited Secretary of State) and Democrat Annette Blackwell (Mayor of Maple Heights). The seat is open because Keith Faber is term-limited and running for Attorney General.
Ohio 2026 State Auditor Race
An open race for Auditor of State — Ohio's watchdog over public money and, less visibly, the holder of a seat on the Ohio Redistricting Commission — between Republican Frank LaRose (the term-limited Secretary of State) and Democrat Annette Blackwell (Mayor of Maple Heights). The seat is open because Keith Faber is term-limited and running for Attorney General.
The matchup
- Republican: Frank LaRose — term-limited as Secretary of State, dropping down-ballot to Auditor. Announced Feb 2025; ran unopposed in the primary.
- Democratic: Annette Blackwell — Maple Heights mayor who led the city out of state fiscal emergency; unopposed in the primary.
- Primary: May 5, 2026. Election: November 3, 2026. No third-party candidate on the ballot.
What the office controls
The Auditor audits every public office in Ohio and can place a distressed local government in fiscal emergency. Just as consequentially, the Auditor is one of seven members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission that draws state legislative maps — so this is a map-drawing seat as much as an accounting one.
Why it matters
This is the sleeper down-ballot race of the 2026 slate. LaRose's move is part of the term-limit "musical chairs" that reshuffled Ohio's Republican statewide officials; Blackwell runs on a clean-audit fiscal-recovery record and an anti-corruption, stop-raiding-local-funds message. No independent rater has issued a rating this far down the ballot, and Republicans have held the office for most of three decades — but the redistricting seat makes it worth more than its profile.