politics
Ohio Primary Elections Underway for Governor, Senate, and Key House Districts
Ohio voters participate in Republican and Democratic primaries on May 5, 2026, selecting nominees for governor, a special U.S. Senate seat and multiple U.S. House districts. Key contests include Vivek Ramaswamy's bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination against Casey Putsch, and Sherrod Brown's Democratic primary for Senate.
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U.S. House seats. ABC News reported that the Ohio Republican primary for governor pits biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a 2024 GOP primary presidential candidate endorsed by President Trump and the Ohio Republican Party, against engineer and car designer Casey Putsch, who is also a YouTube provocateur.
On the Democratic side, former Ohio state health director Dr. Amy Acton runs unopposed in the gubernatorial primary. U.S. Senate race in the last four years, a special election to fill the remainder of the six-year term JD Vance won in 2022 before ascending to vice president in early 2025.
U.S. Senate, faces no opposition in the GOP primary. U.S. Senator who lost his 2024 reelection bid to Republican Bernie Moreno in a contest with $500 million in spending, competes against first-time candidate Ron Kincaid in the Democratic primary.
Every statewide executive office in Ohio is open in 2026 due to term limits, with the governor's race drawing significant attention. ABC News reported that prospective Republican challengers to Ramaswamy included the sitting state attorney general, state treasurer and lieutenant governor, but Ramaswamy cleared the field after securing the party endorsement.
Early voting for the primaries began on April 7, 2026, under new election laws that include citizenship checks and the elimination of the four-day grace period for receiving mailed ballots, with no reports of widespread problems for voters as of May 5, 2026.
Dr. Amy Acton gained prominence in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, standing alongside Republican Gov. Mike DeWine during daily coronavirus broadcasts. ABC News reported that the administration's actions included shuttering businesses, closing schools and canceling an election, leading to upset among some, with armed protesters appearing outside Acton's home.
