In the Ohio Senate race, former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown appears to have a significant advantage over Republican Senator Jon Husted, as indicated by recent polling data. A survey from Fox News shows Brown leading with 52% of likely voters compared to Husted’s 47%.
Brown’s lead stems from his better personal ratings—his favorability stands at 50%, while 48% view him unfavorably. In contrast, Husted’s numbers are less favorable, with only 42% of voters holding a positive view while 55% see him negatively.
Supporters of Brown show greater certainty about their voting intentions, with 88% expressing confidence in their choice, compared to 83% for Husted.
Economic concerns may complicate Husted’s position. A striking 46% of voters indicate their financial situations have worsened over the past two years, compared to just 19% who report improvement. Among those feeling financially challenged, 49% prefer Brown, while those feeling better favor Husted at a rate of 51%.
In addition, Husted faces challenges due to President Trump’s declining approval ratings in Ohio. Trump, who secured 55% of the vote in 2024, currently has only 43% approval, with a significant 57% of voters disapproving of his performance.
A noteworthy percentage of voters (52%) express concerns about Husted being too aligned with Trump. Brown encounters similar worries regarding perceptions of him being too liberal, with 50% of voters sharing such concerns.
The gender demographics show an 18-point gap, with women favoring Brown by 14 points while men lean towards Husted by 4 points. Brown also enjoys support from younger voters, college graduates, union members, and urban/suburban residents, whereas Husted finds backing primarily in rural areas, among non-college-educated white men, and married voters.
In terms of party allegiance, Husted captures 90% of Republican voters, with just 9% crossing over to Brown. On the flip side, Brown garners nearly unanimous support from Democrats (97%) while only 2% opt for Husted, and he leads among independents by nearly two to one.
Interestingly, those who harbor unfavorable views of both candidates tend to prefer Husted by nearly 20 points. Among voters highly engaged in the election, Brown has a 9-point lead, and he leads by 29 points among those who have already cast their ballots.
Ohioans expressed a preference for Democratic control of the U.S. Senate at 50% versus 48% for Republicans. In the governor’s race, Democrat Amy Acton holds a slight edge over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, leading by 50% to 48%. Women support Acton by 10 points, while men favor Ramaswamy by 7 points, mirroring the gender divide seen in the Senate race.
Notably, there’s some ticket-splitting observed, with 8% of Brown supporters backing Ramaswamy and 6% of Husted’s voters choosing Acton. The poll was conducted prior to the release of a negative advertisement from Ramaswamy’s campaign featuring Acton’s estranged mother.
This survey took place between October 15 and 19, 2026, involving 2,005 randomly selected registered voters across Ohio, with a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points for the overall sample.
