2026 Ohio
Primary Election
Guide

Brown lost his Senate seat in November 2024 in what became the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history, with over $451 million spent between the two campaigns. He was out of office barely eight months before launching his comeback bid. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer personally made two trips to Ohio to recruit him. Brown's message to voters: "I didn't plan to run for office again. But when I see what's going on, I know I can do something about it for Ohio."

Because this is a special election, the winner serves only through 2028 and must run again immediately, a uniquely high-risk dynamic for either party. Remarkably, Husted leads Brown even among union households at 48% to 42%, which is a historically alarming warning sign for Ohio Democrats.

This is the hottest race in Ohio and arguably the most politically colorful gubernatorial contest anywhere in the country. Ramaswamy carries substantial opposition research baggage from his H-1B visa arguments and DOGE tenure, both of which created friction with his own conservative base. Cook Political Report downgraded the race from Likely R to Lean R citing his more controversial policy positions, though he has countered by visiting all 88 Ohio counties and positioning himself as a pragmatist who says he believes in common sense.

Acton became a household name for her calm, data-driven COVID briefings alongside DeWine and has surged 10 points since August 2025. She now leads women voters by a staggering margin of 56% to 37%. Ohio has not had a Democratic governor in 15 years, and both campaigns have already turned sharply negative with personal attacks from both sides.

This race is part of Ohio's extraordinary 2026 "musical chairs" at the top of the ballot. AG Yost tried to run for governor but stepped aside once Ramaswamy cleared the field, and Faber, who is term-limited as Auditor, pivoted to the AG race. On the Democratic side, the primary is relatively low-profile — a former legislator against an endurance-athlete attorney whose campaign leans heavily on his outsider story.

LaRose is now seeking his third different statewide office after serving as Secretary of State and making a failed 2024 Senate run. That office-shopping narrative will follow him into the general election campaign. He is part of a three-person Republican carousel where Faber moves to AG, LaRose drops down to Auditor, and Sprague slides over to Secretary of State — all incumbents who are term-limited out of their current positions.

This is a genuine two-way Republican primary — a sitting senator against a former House member — which is rarely seen in down-ballot Ohio races. Incumbent Treasurer Sprague is term-limited and moved over to the Secretary of State race, leaving the Treasurer's office wide open. The office oversees billions of dollars in state investments and public pension deposits.

Strbich is an elections integrity activist who views the Secretary of State role as the frontline of a national battle over voting systems, which makes this Republican primary a microcosm of a broader debate about election administration. Sprague holds the establishment advantage and a commanding 52 to 11 party endorsement. On the Democratic side, Russo is the most credentialed down-ballot Democratic candidate on the entire 2026 ticket given her role as House Minority Leader.

Redistricting added all of deeply Republican Clinton County and more Warren County precincts while stripping the suburban Hamilton County areas that helped Landsman win in 2022. Republicans targeted him specifically in hopes the new map flips the seat. Cook Political Report currently rates it Lean D, and Landsman has a cash advantage, but a strong nominee emerging from the five-way Republican field changes the math considerably. His 2022 upset of Steve Chabot, who held the seat since 1995, was one of the biggest wins for Ohio Democrats in recent political history.

This is the most historically charged congressional race in Ohio. Merrin is back with Trump's endorsement, a clear revenge narrative, and name recognition from 2024 — but a crowded six-way primary could dilute his support and hand the nomination to a weaker general election candidate. The NRCC has made this one of only two Ohio seats on its national target list and committed full party infrastructure to finally retiring Kaptur after 43 years. Democrats argue that Kaptur's brand of constituent service is hard to beat and the district was not dramatically worsened by the new map.

This is a rare double-listing — simultaneously a DCCC Frontline seat and an NRCC target. Redistricting actually helped Sykes here. Democrats negotiated a slightly bluer Akron map in the October 2025 bipartisan compromise, and the improvement was enough to cause the top Republican challenger to drop out of the race. Even with the map improvement, Cook still rates this a Toss Up. The 2024 general saw $6 to $7 million spent by each side, and Sykes is already projecting she will need at least $5 million to hold on this cycle.

Joyce has beaten back MAGA primary challenges by margins of 76 to 77 percent twice before, but Frenchko is his most serious challenger yet. She brings real electoral experience as Trumbull County Commissioner in the working-class Mahoning Valley, and the newly drawn district now includes a slice of Mahoning County near Youngstown where Republican voters lean sharply toward Trump. Whoever wins the Republican primary will be the effective general election winner in a district that trends Republican by roughly 17 points.