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The Ohio governor race has started to come into focus as voters look ahead to the 2026 election contests, and a recent poll has shown Democrat hopeful Amy Acton ahead of Republican frontrunner Vivek Ramaswamy—if only by a slim margin. The poll, conducted on behalf of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, shows Acton with a higher favorability among Ohio likely voters—including a potentially key 21-point advantage among independent voters—but Ramaswamy’s campaign has disputed these results. Why It Matters Ohio will face an open election for governor after incumbent Mike DeWine serves out his term-limited time in office. Ohio has elected only 1 Democrat among the last six governors, spanning from 1991 to today, but Democrats remain hopeful of flipping the state. President Donald Trump and Republicans faced a reality check this week after losing major contests for governor in New Jersey and Virginia—states that voted Democratic but in which Trump had made considerable gains in the 2024 election. Republicans had some optimism they could continue to penetrate what has historically been a very staunchly Democratic country, similar to how Trump broke the infamous “Blue Wall” Great Lakes states in his 2016 win over Hillary Clinton, but those hopes have been dashed after Democrats scored major wins not only in those contests but in smaller elections in states across the country. In this Feb. 27, 2020, photo, Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton gives an update on the state’s preparedness and education efforts to limit the potential spread of COVID-19 at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, as Gov. Mike DeWine listens. What To Know The Democrats and Republicans continue to jockey for position ahead of midterms, which will take place on May 5, 2026, according to The Columbus Dispatch. As of this week, Acton, a physician and former director of the Ohio Department of Health, is the only Democratic candidate to declare her candidacy, although former Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio has indicated he is considering a bid—and has been considering one for the last few months. Meanwhile, Ramaswamy, a billionaire entrepreneur and one-time co-lead of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) along with Elon Musk, has seen potential rivals step down and clear the path for him. Ohio has shifted harder to the right since Barack Obama won the state in consecutive elections, but Democrats remain committed to trying to flip the state. Other recent polls have shown that the race as it stands is a “dead heat,” but the latest poll gives some encouragement to Acton and Democrats that their aspirations may not prove so lofty. Respondents told pollster Hart Research that they preferred Acton to Ramaswamy by just 1 point (46 percent for Acton compared to 45 percent for Ramaswamy), with Acton seeing leads among independents, suburban voters, and women. Acton’s most significant advantage comes from an appeal to independents, where she holds a lead of 52 to 31 compared to Ramaswamy. However, when it comes to their respective parties, they each command around 90 percent support. And Ramaswamy’s numbers show that support for him remains sharply divided, with individuals just as likely to find him appealing or not appealing as a candidate—and Trump’s endorsement carries little weight even though the president easily carried the state. A total of 800 likely Ohio voters were interviewed from September 19 to 22, 2025, using a mix oflive telephone interviews and text-to-web online interviews, the pollster said. The margin of error for full-sample questions is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. “This latest poll is yet another piece of evidence that Ohioans know Dr. Amy Acton is the best candidate to fight back against billionaire Washington insider Vivek Ramaswamy and finally bring much needed relief to families across the state who are struggling with rising costs,” Acton’s campaign manager Philip Stein, told Newsweek in an email statement. “Amy’s difficult upbringing and career as a doctor provide the perfect contrast with Vivek Ramaswamy as he flies around Ohio in his private jet calling Ohioans lazy, refusing to release the Epstein files, and pushing a special interest agenda that will make life even more unaffordable,” Stein added. However, Ramaswamy’s campaign has pushed back against these results, arguing that the Republican hopeful has a wider appeal and that the poll is too narrow to reflect that. “Relying on a poll commissioned by the teachers’ unions is like relying on them to care about our kids instead of the adults. It’s a fool’s errand. Vivek is campaigning all across Ohio gathering support to win in the general election, while Democrats are bracing for an ugly primary,” Jai Chabria, chief strategist for Ramaswamy’s campaign, told Newsweek in an email response for comment. ...
