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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Democrats notched a series of wins for local offices during Tuesday’s general election, further consolidating their power in large cities and making inroads in suburban and even some rural communities. While it’s too soon to say for certain what the results portend for Ohio’s 2026 midterm elections, when A-list races for U.S. Senate and governor are on the ballot, Democrats say they offer a glimmer of hope for reversing more than a decade of statewide losses. In part, the performance by Democrats reflects how many suburban areas – particularly wealthier, well-educated ones – have been shifting in recent years from being Republican strongholds to becoming reliably Democratic, said David Niven, a University of Cincinnati political science professor and former speechwriter for Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland. Democratic-backed candidates also won several competitive races for school board across the state. Those results reflect how voters are turning against Republican school board members’ attempts to put socially conservative policies in place, Niven said. From Cleveland to Cincinnati, Democrats swept most big-city municipal offices and kicked out some of the few remaining Republican officeholders. Among other things, Democrats won control of the Hamilton County Municipal Court. Democrats increased their power in suburban areas as well, including sweeping city council races in the Columbus suburbs of Hilliard and Upper Arlington (the latter being the hometown of prominent Republicans like U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, 2026 gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and Secretary of State Frank LaRose). In Cincinnati’s eastern suburbs, Democrats won two races for Anderson Township trustee and unseated a Republican Blue Ash City Councilman who had held the position for 21 years. In Cleveland, GOP-backed Municipal Judge Christopher Woodworth, appointed to the bench in February, lost his race for a full term on the court. Conservative-backed school board incumbents were unseated in Allen County, and a conservative slate of candidates for Mentor school board was also defeated. Tuesday’s local election results in Ohio came as Democrats scored high-profile wins for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, and self-described democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayor’s race. Many of Ohio Democrats’ victories came in races that are technically non-partisan, and/or revolved around local issues and personalities more than national political trends. However, multiple Ohio Democrats said they also illustrate high motivation among Democratic voters who were looking for some tangible way to express their opposition to the Trump administration. “I think folks will be scared at the state Republican level after what happened last night around the country and in Ohio, if those trends continue,” said state Sen. Bill DeMora, a Columbus Democrat. Even with Tuesday’s election results, Ohio Republicans still dominate all three branches of state government and hold all but one statewide office. But Tuesday’s Democratic wins -- while at the local level -- will help their party to address one of the main reasons given for their political impotence in recent years: their lack of a “bench” of lower-level officeholders who are positioned to seek higher office, Niven said. “They’re at least stocking up the minor leagues,” Niven said, using a baseball analogy. “It’s a long way from winning local races to running statewide, but it matters. These races were often won by Republicans simply because Democrats didn’t field candidates. “Now we’re seeing ... an awakening of Democrats that you have to actually field candidates -- and if you do, you’ll be rewarded,” he said. Ohio Republican Party Chair Alex Triantafilou, in a statement, attributed Democrats’ victories to a different source. “The energy from Democrats last night was fueled by an anti-Trump, socialist agenda led by the party’s far-left,” he said. Not every Ohio Democrat fared well on Tuesday. Two incumbent major-city mayors were voted out of office: Jeffrey Mims in Dayton and Tito Brown in Youngstown. Mims was upset by City Commissioner Shenise Turner-Sloss, while Brown lost to independent candidate Derrick McDowell, a local entrepreneur. Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney – long considered a rising star among Ohio Democrats – will remain in office, but only because he lost his race to become a municipal judge. Asked about Mims and Brown on Wednesday, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde noted that neither lost to a Republican. She called their defeats “a sign that voters want change and they support Democratic policies and our agenda.”
