Ohio Primary Election Results 2026

Ramaswamy and Acton Advance to General Election for Governor

Republicans Vivek Ramaswamy and Rob McColley secured an easy victory in their primary last night, taking 82.47% of the vote to Casey Putsch and Kim Georgeton's 17.53%. Democrat Amy Acton and David Pepper were unopposed in their primary. Both Ramaswamy and Acton are making their first appearances in Ohio elections, while their running mates, current Senate President McColley and former Hamilton County Commissioner and former state Democratic Party chairman Pepper, have spent years in elected office. In the Libertarian Party primary, Don Kissick and James Mills received 100% of the vote over write-in candidates Travis Vought and Christy Jo Orr.

Statewide Candidates Locked in for November Election

Even though all of Ohio's current statewide officeholders are facing the end of their terms, many are seeking to shuffle their seats and will be on the ballot this fall.

Current Auditor Keith Faber (R) was unopposed in his primary for Attorney General. Faber will be running against Columbus-area attorney and Upper Arlington City Councilman John Kulewicz (D). Kulewicz defeated former Representative Elliot Forhan (D) of Brooklyn Heights.

Maple Heights Mayor Annette Blackwell (D) will face current Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) in the race for Auditor.

Current Treasurer Robert Sprague (R) was able to defeat his challenger, Marcell Stribich, an Air Force veteran from Montgomery County. Sprague will be running against Representative Allison Russo (D), former House Minority Leader, who easily defeated Brian Hambley, a medical doctor from Loveland.

Finally, former Representative Jay Edwards (R) of Nelsonville defeated Senator Kristina Roegner of Hudson in the primary for Treasurer. Edwards will face Seth Walsh (D), a nonprofit executive from Cincinnati, who was unopposed in his primary.

Brown Wins Shot to Return in Fall for the U.S. Senate

Former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D) was able to handily defeat his primary opponent, Ron Kincaid, winning 89.47% of the vote in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. Brown will face current Senator Jon Husted (R), who is running to keep the seat he was appointed to last year after J.D. Vance became the Vice President. William Redpath will also be running in the fall for the Libertarian Party. Whoever ultimately wins in November will only serve out the remaining two years of Vance's original term and will likely have to start campaigning again immediately if they choose to run again in November 2028.

U.S. House Incumbents Finish Strong in Races

All incumbents in the U.S. House are seeking to retain their seats this year, and each finished strongly in their primaries. Incumbents facing primaries included Greg Landsman (D-1st District), David Taylor (R-2nd District), Michael Rulli (R-6th District), Shontel Brown (D-11th District), and Dave Joyce (R-14th District). In total, 20 contested primaries were conducted in U.S. House races across the state.

One race to watch is the 9th District contest between Representative Marcy Kaptur (D) and former Ohio Representative Derek Merrin (R). Representative Kaptur is the longest-serving woman in congressional history, having assumed office in January 1983, and she has served as dean of the Ohio congressional delegation since 2009. Kaptur squared off against Merrin in 2024, where she won 48.27% of the vote to Merrin's 47.63%. Ohio's congressional districts have since been redrawn, and the current 9th District went for President Donald Trump (R) by 11 points.

The major party candidates in the fall will be:

District 1: Eric Conroy v. Greg Landsman*

District 2: David Taylor* v. Jen Mazzuckelli

District 3: Cleophus Dulaney v. Joyce Beatty*

District 4: Jim Jordan* v. Joshua Kolasinski

District 5: Bob Latta* v. Brian Shaver

District 6: Michael Rulli* v. Elizabeth Kirtley

District 7: Max Miller* v. Brian Poindexter

District 8: Warren Davidson* v. Vanessa Enoch

District 9: Derek Merrin v. Marcy Kaptur*

District 10: Mike Turner* v. Kristina Knickerbocker

District 11: Mike Kirchner v. Shontel Brown*

District 12: Troy Balderson* v. Jerrad Christian

District 13: Carey Coleman v. Emilia Sykes*

District 14: Dave Joyce* v. Maria Jukic

District 15: Mike Carey* v. Don Leonard

*Incumbent

Incumbents Finish Strong in Ohio House and Senate Races, Only Two Incumbents Fall

All 99 Ohio House seats and 17 Ohio Senate seats will be up for grabs in the fall and many candidates faced primary opponents yesterday. Some of the more interesting race results included:

• Former Representative Craig Riedel (R) was able to defeat current Representative Jim Hoops (R) to replace Senate President Rob McColley in the 1st Senate District. Riedel faces no opponent in the fall.
• Representative Beth Lear (R) and Senator Andrew Brenner (R) of Delaware County were attempting to switch seats, and both lost in their primaries - Lear to Ryan Rivers and Brenner to Shawn Stevens. No other incumbents lost their races.
• Mother and son duo Representative Gayle Manning (R) and Senator Nathan Manning (R) from Lorain County were unopposed in their primaries and will be attempting to swap seats for a second time this fall. Gayle Manning will face Representative Joe Miller (D) in the 13th Senate District, and Nathan Manning will be running against Mike Baker (D) in the 52nd House District.
• Representative Ron Ferguson (R) of the 96th House District, despite not receiving the endorsement of the Republican Party, was able to withstand a challenge from former Senator Frank Hoagland, winning 62.71% of the vote to Hoagland's 37.29%.
• Familiar faces seeking a return to the Statehouse in the fall include Eugene Miller (D-Cleveland), Tom Brinkman (R-Cincinnati), Christina Hagan-Nemeth (R-Canton), John Boccieri (D-Youngstown) and Shawn Stevens (R-Sunbury). Also, Bernadine Kent, who previously represented the Columbus area as a Democrat, is running as a write-in candidate for the Republicans in the 3rd House District against Representative Ismail Mohamed (D).

Ohio Supreme Court Races Set

The court's sole Democrat member, Justice Jennifer Brunner, who was unopposed in her primary, will face Judge Colleen O'Donnell in November. O'Donnell currently serves as a judge on the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. She won a tight four-candidate primary with 32.15% of the vote over Judge Andrew King of the 5th District Court of Appeals, Judge Jill Lanzinger of the 9th District Court of Appeals and Judge Ronald Lewis of the 2nd District Court of Appeals.

Justice Dan Hawkins (R) will be running to retain his seat against Judge Marilyn Zayas (D) of the 1st District Court of Appeals. Each was unopposed in their primaries.

* All vote counts are preliminary.

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