Ohio Primary Preview: High-Stakes Governor, Senate and House Races to Watch

WASHINGTON — Voters across Ohio head to the polls Tuesday for a statewide primary that could help shape the 2026 midterm landscape. Several high-profile contests — including an open governor’s race, a competitive U.S. Senate contest and multiple key U.S. House matchups — have drawn national attention and heavy spending.

Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, left, and Beverly Aikins, the mother of Vice President JD Vance, pose for a photo before the Warren County Republicans Lincoln Day Dinner at the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Governor's Race

The Republican contest to replace outgoing Gov. Mike DeWine pits tech entrepreneur and 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy against auto-racing engineer and online personality Casey Putsch. Ramaswamy enters the final stretch with roughly $31 million on hand, including about $25 million of his own money, and endorsements from former President Donald Trump and the Ohio Republican Party. Putsch reported roughly $123,000 raised and about $8,700 in his account as of the most recent April filing.

Ohio gubernatorial candidate Casey Putsch reacts during a campaign event in Toledo, Ohio, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

A third GOP hopeful, Heather Hill, was disqualified after her running mate withdrew amid an acrimonious split; their names will remain on the ballot but any votes cast for them will not be counted. The Republican primary winner will face Democrat Dr. Amy Acton, who is unopposed for her party’s nomination and who served as Ohio’s health director early in the state’s COVID-19 response before resigning in June 2020.

FILE - Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, speaks during an event in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex on March 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

U.S. Senate

On the Democratic side, former Sen. Sherrod Brown is running to reclaim his old Senate seat. Brown faces Ron Kincaid for the Democratic nomination and held a substantial fundraising advantage as of mid-April. The Republican nominee is Sen. Jon Husted, who faces no primary opposition after being appointed to fill the seat vacated by JD Vance when Vance became vice president. That seat will again be on the ballot for a full term in 2028.

Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown speaks during a campaign event ahead of primary elections at the Paladin Brewery in Austintown, Ohio, Thursday, April, 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Phil Long)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

U.S. House Races To Watch

Multiple U.S. House contests could influence control of the chamber. In Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, a crowded Republican field seeks to challenge 22-term Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur. Derek Merrin, who narrowly lost to Kaptur in 2024, is again competing for the GOP nomination against candidates including former ICE deputy director Madison Sheahan and state Rep. Josh Williams. Lucas County (Toledo) is a pivotal vote center in that GOP primary and supplied more than one-third of the total vote in the district’s 2024 Republican primary.

How The AP Will Cover Results

The Associated Press does not project winners until it determines there is no plausible path for a trailing candidate to overtake the leader. The AP will report results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor and other statewide races (attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, state Supreme Court and the state legislature). If a race is not yet called, the AP will continue to cover newsworthy developments — such as concessions or claims of victory — while clearly noting that no official call has been made.

Ohio law requires automatic recounts when the margin is less than 0.25% in statewide races or 0.5% in congressional district contests. The AP may still call a race that is technically eligible for a recount if the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Key Logistics And What To Watch

• Polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET.
• Any registered Ohio voter may participate in any party primary; Ohio does not register voters by party, though participating in a party primary is recorded as party affiliation for that election.
• As of Friday, Ohio had about 7.9 million registered voters.
• In 2022, Republican primaries for governor and U.S. Senate each drew about 1.1 million votes (~14% of registered voters at the time); Democratic primaries for those offices drew roughly 509,000–518,000 votes.
• Early voting matters: roughly 17% of 2022 primary votes were cast before primary day and about 25% of votes were cast early in the 2024 presidential primary. As of Friday, more than 153,000 Democratic and about 122,000 Republican primary ballots had already been submitted for this election.
• All 88 counties typically report most or all early and absentee results in their first update of the night, often before in-person election-day tallies are reported; county reporting patterns will drive the sequence of early returns.

These contests — and how quickly counties report their early ballots — will determine when winners can be confidently declared. Follow AP’s ongoing coverage at apnews.com/projects/elections-2026.