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2026 Ohio Governor Election: Candidates, Polls & Voting

A ballot brings together several decisions that share an election date but may follow different rules. The office, jurisdiction and stage of the election tell you what each choice means.

Start with the office and the place

An election record describes a particular office or question in a particular jurisdiction. A statewide contest is different from a congressional district, a city council seat or a school district. An address can help connect those boundaries, but a ZIP code alone is not a guarantee of one exact ballot. Use the election authority’s own ballot lookup to confirm the final choices for a voter.

Separate a filing from a ballot appearance

A campaign-finance filing tells you that a financial record exists. It does not, by itself, establish that the person qualified for the November ballot. A primary participant, withdrawn candidate and certified general-election candidate can all leave public records. Read the election stage and the source label before treating a directory as a current candidate list. Registered write-in candidates are a separate category whose rules depend on the jurisdiction.

Read the full elections & ballots guide →
Races/Ohio
2026 · Governor

Ohio governor election

Election Day: November 3, 2026. Meet the published candidates, compare reported surveys and make your voting plan.

Make your voting plan

Ohio
Voter registration guideOfficial registration options ↗Open my election officeOfficial voter services ↗Deadlines and rulesCheck your state’s sources →

Election Day hours: 6:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. local time

Who is on the November ballot?

November 3, 2026 · 3 printed ballot names · alphabetical

Official November list checked .

Registered November write-in candidates

These names belong on the official write-in list, rather than the printed candidate list.

November write-in information

Write-in rules and filing deadlines vary by office and state. Check the current official list; the printed roster alone does not establish whether write-ins are eligible. Official write-in information ↗

Dates for November 3

Download calendar ↓

Partial coverage: only the dated entries below have been checked. Confirm other deadlines and exceptions with your election office.

Ohio · Sourced election dates
ActionDateDetails and source
Register online
Passed		Registration deadline; check online cutoff and official instructions.
Official source ↗
Register by mail
Passed		Registration deadline; check receipt/postmark requirements.
Official source ↗
Register in person
Passed		Boards of elections and the Secretary of State office open until 9 p.m.
Official source ↗
Early voting begins
Passed		Early in-person voting begins; daily hours vary.
Official source ↗
Early voting ends
11 days left		Final early-voting hours are 1–5 p.m.; check county location.
Official source ↗
Request mail ballot
6 days left		Absentee applications must be received by the board of elections by 8:30 p.m.
Official source ↗
Return ballot
13 days left		Non-UOCAVA absentee ballots must be received by 7:30 p.m.; military/overseas rules differ.
Official source ↗

Checked 2026-10-16. Confirm local details and exceptions with your election office.

POLLING · SURVEYS, NOT PREDICTIONS

What do the polls say?

21 survey records

Individual surveys of 2026 contests, including earlier cycle history from 2025. Matchups and populations stay separate; older or hypothetical matchups do not establish who is on the current ballot.

Simple average, not a forecast

Each pollster’s latest general-election survey ending within the last 30 days, with equal weight. Reviewed candidate identities join spelling variants; different matchups and voter populations stay separate. Percentages describe reported support, not a chance of winning.

Newest fieldwork appears first. When dates tie, the default favors more pollsters not marked internal or partisan in this 30-day window. Source labels remain visible; this is not a pollster-quality rating.

Likely voters · 4 polls · 1 of 4 internal or partisan surveys

Sep 23, 2026–Oct 9, 2026 · Lead between the two highest answers: 3.0 percentage points

Reported answerAverage support
Amy Acton47.5%
Vivek Ramaswamy44.5%
Don Kissick3.8%
Included surveys & calculation

Add each answer’s reported support across these 4 surveys and divide by 4. No house effects, sample weights, undecided allocation or error band is applied. Incomplete numeric matchups are excluded from this calculation but remain in the survey history. Full methodology →

Likely voters · 2 polls

Sep 22, 2026–Oct 5, 2026 · Lead between the two highest answers: 6.0 percentage points

Reported answerAverage support
Amy Acton49.5%
Vivek Ramaswamy43.5%
Included surveys & calculation

Add each answer’s reported support across these 2 surveys and divide by 2. No house effects, sample weights, undecided allocation or error band is applied. Incomplete numeric matchups are excluded from this calculation but remain in the survey history. Full methodology →

Registered voters · 1 poll

Sep 24, 2026–Sep 27, 2026 · Lead between the two highest answers: 6.0 percentage points

Reported answerAverage support
Amy Acton50.0%
Vivek Ramaswamy44.0%
Included surveys & calculation

Add each answer’s reported support across these 1 surveys and divide by 1. No house effects, sample weights, undecided allocation or error band is applied. Incomplete numeric matchups are excluded from this calculation but remain in the survey history. Full methodology →

Hover or tap a date to see the survey and source.

Polling history for the selected matchup4 survey observations. Vertical scale: reported support from 0 to 60 percent. Select a survey date to read its source. Arrow keys move between dates. Exact figures and source links follow in the survey reports.0%15%30%45%60%Amy Acton: 50% · Bowling Green State University/YouGov · Oct 9, 2026 · 1,000 people surveyed · https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=depoAmy Acton: 43% · co/efficient · Oct 6, 2026 · 925 people surveyed · https://battlegrounds.coefficient.org/ohAmy Acton: 46.8% · Big Data Poll · Sep 27, 2026 · 680 people surveyed · https://www.bigdatapoll.com/blog/buckeye-state-poll-sherrod-brown-leads-jon-husted-for-us-senate-in-ohio/Amy Acton: 50% · Suffolk University · Sep 27, 2026 · 500 people surveyed · https://www.suffolk.edu/academics/research-at-suffolk/political-research-center/polls/other-states#collapse-September-29-2026-Ohio-Governor-and-US-Senate-with-USA-TODAY-Network-OhioDon Kissick: 4% · Bowling Green State University/YouGov · Oct 9, 2026 · 1,000 people surveyed · https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=depoDon Kissick: 3% · co/efficient · Oct 6, 2026 · 925 people surveyed · https://battlegrounds.coefficient.org/ohDon Kissick: 5.3% · Big Data Poll · Sep 27, 2026 · 680 people surveyed · https://www.bigdatapoll.com/blog/buckeye-state-poll-sherrod-brown-leads-jon-husted-for-us-senate-in-ohio/Don Kissick: 3% · Suffolk University · Sep 27, 2026 · 500 people surveyed · https://www.suffolk.edu/academics/research-at-suffolk/political-research-center/polls/other-states#collapse-September-29-2026-Ohio-Governor-and-US-Senate-with-USA-TODAY-Network-OhioVivek Ramaswamy: 44% · Bowling Green State University/YouGov · Oct 9, 2026 · 1,000 people surveyed · https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=depoVivek Ramaswamy: 45% · co/efficient · Oct 6, 2026 · 925 people surveyed · https://battlegrounds.coefficient.org/ohVivek Ramaswamy: 47.9% · Big Data Poll · Sep 27, 2026 · 680 people surveyed · https://www.bigdatapoll.com/blog/buckeye-state-poll-sherrod-brown-leads-jon-husted-for-us-senate-in-ohio/Vivek Ramaswamy: 41% · Suffolk University · Sep 27, 2026 · 500 people surveyed · https://www.suffolk.edu/academics/research-at-suffolk/political-research-center/polls/other-states#collapse-September-29-2026-Ohio-Governor-and-US-Senate-with-USA-TODAY-Network-OhioSep 27, 2026Oct 9, 2026
Amy ActonDon KissickVivek Ramaswamy

Party colors: Republican red, Democratic blue, Independent purple. Other or unmatched affiliations are gray. Dash patterns distinguish candidates sharing a color.

Dots show reported support. Lines connect surveys over time—not an average or forecast. Pollsters can differ. Missing values and multiple surveys ending on the same date break the lines.

How to read this chart

No average, trend estimate, or win probability. Different matchups and populations are not combined. Dates mark the last day people were surveyed. The vertical scale always starts at zero; use “Full 0–100% scale” to compare charts on the same scale. The number of people surveyed is the survey sample size, not the number supporting a candidate. Select “Survey source” to inspect every report, including overlapping dots.

Individual survey reports (4)

Latest surveys · selected matchup

Individual reports. Original sources and methodology below.

Fieldwork –
Reported support
  • Amy ActonDemocratic50%
  • Don Kissick4%
  • Vivek RamaswamyRepublican44%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Sample
1,000 people surveyed
Population
Likely voters
Survey details & methodology
Reported margin of error
Not supplied in this feed
Method
Not supplied in this feed
Sponsors
Not supplied in this feed
Pollster/sponsor partisan label
Not supplied
Internal poll
Not marked internal by provider
Added by provider
Provider ID
gov202bow8bc2f1b8
Fieldwork –
Reported support
  • Amy ActonDemocratic43%
  • Don Kissick3%
  • Vivek RamaswamyRepublican45%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Sample
925 people surveyed
Population
Likely voters
Survey details & methodology
Reported margin of error
Not supplied in this feed
Method
Not supplied in this feed
Sponsors
Not supplied in this feed
Pollster/sponsor partisan label
REP
Internal poll
Not marked internal by provider
Added by provider
Provider ID
gov202co/1800419d
Fieldwork –
Reported support
  • Amy ActonDemocratic46.8%
  • Don Kissick5.3%
  • Vivek RamaswamyRepublican47.9%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Sample
680 people surveyed
Population
Likely voters
Survey details & methodology
Reported margin of error
Not supplied in this feed
Method
Not supplied in this feed
Sponsors
Public Polling Project
Pollster/sponsor partisan label
Not supplied
Internal poll
Not marked internal by provider
Added by provider
Provider ID
gov202big5e3239e4
Fieldwork –
Reported support
  • Amy ActonDemocratic50%
  • Don Kissick3%
  • Vivek RamaswamyRepublican41%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Sample
500 people surveyed
Population
Likely voters
Survey details & methodology
Reported margin of error
Not supplied in this feed
Method
Not supplied in this feed
Sponsors
USA Today
Pollster/sponsor partisan label
Not supplied
Internal poll
Not marked internal by provider
Added by provider
Provider ID
gov202sufa08bfacb

Labels and figures are supplied by VoteHub. A listed matchup does not establish ballot qualification or primary/general-election status unless the source explicitly says so. Unlisted responses may include undecided voters or other choices; the displayed figures are not rescaled to total 100%.

Polling compilation: VoteHub · CC BY 4.0. Electionpedia normalizes dates, matches races, and visualizes reported results; it does not estimate outcomes. Original survey links are attached to each report.

Saved polling snapshot in use (captured 10/16/2026, 9:21:35 PM UTC). Automatic refresh has not completed for every feed; check each survey’s field dates.

Last successful feed updates
  • Senate: 10/16/2026, 9:21:35 PM UTC · 474 survey records
  • House: 10/16/2026, 9:21:35 PM UTC · 133 survey records
  • Governor: 10/16/2026, 9:21:35 PM UTC · 349 survey records
  • National preference: 10/16/2026, 9:21:35 PM UTC · 546 survey records

An update time is when we checked the feed, not when a survey was conducted. Coverage is not exhaustive.

Follow campaign money

Governor campaigns file with their state’s campaign-finance authorities. Federal candidate totals do not describe this race.

SECRETARY OF STATE ↗

OHIO ELECTIONS COMMISSION ↗

State campaign-finance sources →

No verified prediction-market match is connected for this race yet. See national House and Senate market prices →

Election inventory: National Governors Association ↗ · checked 2026-10-11. Ballot status comes from the separate state certification when present.