2026 Midterms State GuideOhio
Hold on to your Buckeyes and Cedar Point day passes.
Polls are closed
Polls are closed in Ohio, and results aren’t finalized yet.
Ballots are still being counted, close races can take days to call, and no result is official until it’s certified.
A prayer for Ohio
God who removes and sets up kings, You are our confidence in election season, and Your sovereignty is our peace in a tottering world.
Read the whole prayerUpdated
Hi! It’s me, Shadrach. Apparently, I’m your civic guide today. If you’ve been complaining about how things are going (and I’ve heard you... the walls are thin), this guide will help you feel informed and able to vote in this year’s midterms. Now, hold on to your Buckeyes and Cedar Point day passes, and let’s get into it.
Ohio at a glance
Ohio votes on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, for governor, U.S. Senate, all 15 U.S. House seats and one statewide ballot measure.
- Election Day
- Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026
- Voter registration
- Oct. 5: Voter registration deadline
- Early voting
- Oct. 6: Early in-person voting begins
- Governor
- 7 candidates
- U.S. Senate
- 7 candidates
- U.S. House
- 15 seats
- Statewide ballot measures
- 1
What happens next
The counting continues
Election-night numbers are unofficial. Mail, provisional, and military ballots are still being counted, so close races can take days to call.
- Nov. 7UOCAVA mailed ballot return deadline.
Officials double-check the count
Local election officials review the ballots and the tallies (the canvass). A very close race can go to a recount.
Ohio certifies the results
Results become official once Ohio certifies them, usually a few weeks after Election Day.
Winners take office
The new Congress takes office in early January. Governors and other state officials take office on dates set by state law, most of them in January too.
Important dates
- May 5Primaries This date has passed.
- Oct. 5Voter registration deadline This date has passed.
- Oct. 6Early in-person voting begins This date has passed.
- Oct. 27Absentee ballot request deadline This date has passed.
- Nov. 1Last day of early in-person voting This date has passed.
- Nov. 3Election Day This date has passed.
- Nov. 7UOCAVA mailed ballot return deadline This date has passed.
What’s at stake
Ohioans are tracking with the rest of the country and sending the economy to the top of the list of their concerns. A 2026 Emerson College poll found that 44% of voters think the economy is the number one issue facing the state, followed by threats to democracy (13%), healthcare (11%), housing affordability (9%), immigration (8%), and education (7%). Buckeyes are split on who they think could handle these issues at a gubernatorial and Senate level, with the Republican and Democratic candidates in both races locked in dead heats according to early polling. Ohio also has a special ballot add: technically the state doesn’t vote for a Senator this year, but J.D. Vance vacated his seat in January 2025 to become Vice President. Jon Husted was appointed in his place, and voters will decide if they want him to serve out the VP’s leftover term.
Who’s on your ballot
Tap a race to see the candidates.
Ohio is choosing a governor
See whose priorities line up with yours
Here are the top priorities each candidate lists, in their own words. Pick the 3 that matter most to you. Names stay hidden until you see your results.
0 of 3 picked
- Top priorities
Amy ActonDemocrat- Reducing costs for Ohio families by securing a tax cut for working families
- Creating an anti-corruption task force and closing the revolving door
- Restoring public school funding through the Fair School Funding Plan and reforming vouchers
- Top priorities
Vivek RamaswamyRepublican- Lowering taxes and electric bills to make Ohio the most affordable state
- Raising academic standards, paying top teachers more and expanding career-technical education
- Tightening bail and sentencing for repeat violent offenders and supporting local police
- Top prioritiesDon KissickLibertarian
- Opposing data center expansion that he says puts corporate interests over local communities
- Restricting government use of license-plate cameras and the sharing of vehicle-location data
- Ending the property tax, balancing the budget and eliminating corporate subsidies
- Tim GradyIndependent
Write-in
- Heather HillIndependent
Write-in
- Renea TurnerIndependent
Write-in
- Ron UlaIndependent
Write-in
- Get to know ’em
Sherrod BrownDemocrat - Get to know ’em
Bill RedpathLibertarian - Get to know ’emGregory LevyIndependent
- Stephen FarisIndependent
Write-in
- Anthony HollimanIndependent
Write-in
- Timothy TelymondeIndependent
Write-in
All U.S. House of Representatives seats are up for election every two years. Find your district here.
This year, Ohio is debuting some new
roller coastersdistrict boundaries, making it one of nine states to feature a new Congressional map in 2026.- Shadrach’s big picture
Ohioans will elect 15 candidates to represent them in the U.S. House. Ohio was required by law to draw a new map due to a constitutional amendment putting a shorter expiration date on maps without bipartisan support. Republicans were expected to hold 12 of the 15 seats (up from 10 under the old map), but more recent ratings have Republicans expected to hold nine seats; Democrats are expected to hold four seats, and two are toss-ups.
- Open seats
None
- The redistricting effect
Ohio's new map was drawn to help Republicans by making two Democratic-held seats less safe: Rep. Greg Landsman's Cincinnati-based 1st District added Republican-leaning Warren and Clinton counties, and Rep. Marcy Kaptur's Toledo-area 9th District added more conservative inland territory. It’s unknown if either seat will flip. OH-1 leans Democratic, though less solidly than on the old map, while Kaptur's seat is now a competitive toss-up. Of Ohio's current five Democratic-held seats, three remain solidly Democratic, one is more competitive but still favored to stay Democratic, and one is a true toss-up. Going the other way, scandal around the incumbent has shifted Rep. Max Miller’s 7th from a safe red district to a competitive toss-up.
- Competitive districts
Cook ranks two Ohio districts toss-ups: OH-7 and OH-9. OH-1 is considered more competitive (leaning but not solidly Democratic), OH-13 is likely Democratic, and OH-3 and OH-11 are solidly Democratic. OH-10 and OH-15 are likely Republican, and the rest are solidly Republican.
Statewide ballot measures
1 to read before you go. Tap one to open it.
This measure would amend the state constitution to require voters to present photo identification (ID) to vote in person, as well as requiring absentee voters to provide a photo ID, or a signature plus one other unique identifier authorized by law. Voters are already required to show ID, but this measure will cement it in the constitution, so it’s a harder rule to change going forward.
Voting yessupports enshrining the current photo ID requirement in the constitution (photo ID in person; photo ID or a signature plus one other identifier for absentee voters)Voting noopposes cementing it in the constitution. The current photo ID law would stay in place either way, but it would remain easier for a future legislature to change
Also on the ballot
Other races Ohio voters will decide.
- Congress special election
- State House
- State Senate
- Lieutenant Governor
- Attorney General
- Secretary of State
- Auditor
- Treasurer
- State Supreme Court
- Intermediate appellate courts
- Municipal government
- Recalls
- Local ballot measures
Whose job is it?
Ten things government does. Tap the office that does each one.
Whose job is it to…
1 of 10
Declare a state of emergency after a hurricane or flood?
Pass it on
Know someone voting in Ohio?
Send them the guide. It takes one tap, and it saves them an evening of arguing in a group chat.
A prayer for Ohio
God who removes and sets up kings, You are our confidence in election season, and Your sovereignty is our peace in a tottering world.
While we wait for Your soon-coming kingdom, appoint for the Buckeye State leaders who will seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. Stabilize Ohioans in the time between terms; raise up qualified, upright candidates; protect them and the voting process from violence and fraud. May voters receive accurate, helpful information, and may their government earn their trust and work for their good.
King of Every Nation, though these candidates seek positions of power, their strength pales against Yours. Though officials seek to make things better, You are making all things new. Ohio’s leaders may fumble and fight and fade, but You, my King, are immovable, unconquerable, and everlasting. So strengthen Ohioans with forbearance to submit to imperfect leadership until all the world comes together under Your perfect rule.
Amen.