Ohio Governor 2026
A sourced guide to the Ohio governor race between Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy: every public poll, the ratings and where official results will appear. This is not an endorsement.
Our Final CallActon Beats RamaswamyRead why →The Ohio governor race: history, data and the final week
On Oct 20 Ramaswamy confirmed that an ad in which Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, calls her a "serial liar" came from his campaign; Acton's campaign called it "despicable," and Acton has said she became estranged from her mother after her stepfather was charged with abusing her as a child (FOX19). On Oct 22 Gov. Mike DeWine, who endorsed Ramaswamy, called the ad "deeply, deeply troubling" and urged him to "take this down," and Sen. Jon Husted and Secretary of State Frank LaRose said they would not have run it, while Trump said Ramaswamy should keep it up and VP JD Vance criticized Republicans "whining" about it (AP via Cleveland19 and WAFB). Of the independent polls released Oct 19 or later, five showed Acton ahead (by 1 to 7 points) and two showed Ramaswamy ahead by 2 (Echelon Insights for NetChoice and an ActiVote reading).
How this state voted before
Historic vote shares describe previous electorates, not a projection of the 2026 outcome.
Meet the candidates
Amy Acton
Physician and former director of the Ohio Department of Health under Gov. Mike DeWine, where she led the state's early COVID-19 response before resigning in 2020. She was unopposed in the May 5 Democratic primary (767,360 votes); her running mate is former Ohio Democratic Party chair David Pepper.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Biotech entrepreneur who founded Roivant Sciences, ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and briefly co-led the Department of Government Efficiency effort before launching his campaign in 2025. Endorsed by Trump and Gov. DeWine, he won the May 5 Republican primary with 82.4% over Casey Putsch; his running mate is Ohio Senate President Rob McColley.
Also on the ballot: Libertarian Don Kissick (running mate James L. Mills); write-in line.
Ratings and money
Cook moved it from Toss-Up to Lean D on Oct. 23, joining Sabato’s Crystal Ball (Leans D); Inside Elections moved it from Toss-Up to Tilt D on Oct. 29.
Signal Ohio (June 18) reported Acton raised nearly $11.5 million in 2026 to Ramaswamy's $9.6 million, but Ramaswamy held $26.8 million cash on hand to her $8.1 million after personally loaning his campaign $25 million in 2025. AP reported in October that Ramaswamy's campaign planned to spend $4 million airing the ad featuring Acton's mother, and that Illinois first lady MK Pritzker gave $500,000 to Acton's campaign in response.
Race timeline
Primaries: Ramaswamy wins GOP nod with 82.4%; Acton unopposed
Ramaswamy accepts CNN and WLWT debate invitations; Acton declines, so no debates are held
Ramaswamy confirms his campaign made the ad featuring Acton's estranged mother
Gov. DeWine urges Ramaswamy to take the ad down; Trump backs the ad
Election Day
Polls and polling average
Every public poll of Amy Acton vs. Vivek Ramaswamy we have tracked since Feb 22: 29 in all, 21 of them from independent pollsters that count toward the average. Updated October 31, 2026. Tap a dot for the poll’s details and source; switch to Margin for the clearest read on a phone. This is published polling, not a forecast.
Loading the interactive poll tracker… Every public poll we track for this race, newest first:
| Fielded | Pollster / source | Sample | Acton (D) | Ramaswamy (R) | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 16–Oct 31 | ActiVote Excluded | 400 LV | 50.8 | 49.2 | D+1.6 |
| Oct 21–Oct 26 | Suffolk University | 500 LV | 48 | 44 | D+4 |
| Oct 16–Oct 23 | Echelon Insights | 508 LV | 45 | 47 | R+2 |
| Oct 20–Oct 23 | RedBox Research Partisan | 2,998 LV | 48 | 44 | D+4 |
| Oct 1–Oct 20 | Verasight / VoteHub | 531 LV | 46 | 45 | D+1 |
| Sep 27–Oct 19 | ActiVote Excluded | 400 LV | 49 | 51 | R+2 |
| Oct 15–Oct 19 | Fox News / Beacon–Shaw | 1,592 LV | 50 | 48 | D+2 |
| Oct 15–Oct 18 | Marist University | LV | 50 | 43 | D+7 |
| Oct 9–Oct 13 | GS Strategy Group (R) / New River Strategies (D) | 959 LV | 49 | 44 | D+5 |
| Sep 29–Oct 9 | Bowling Green State University / YouGov | 1,000 LV | 50 | 44 | D+6 |
| Oct 5–Oct 6 | co/efficient | 925 LV | 43 | 45 | R+2 |
| Sep 29–Oct 5 | CNN / SSRS | 760 LV | 50 | 42 | D+8 |
| Sep 22–Oct 1 | New York Times / Siena | 616 LV | 49 | 45 | D+4 |
| Sep 18–Sep 30 | YouGov | 3,780 LV | 48 | 44 | D+4 |
| Sep 24–Sep 27 | Marist University | 1,298 RV | 50 | 44 | D+6 |
| Sep 26–Sep 27 | Big Data Poll | 680 LV | 47 | 48 | R+1 |
| Sep 23–Sep 27 | Suffolk University | 500 LV | 50 | 41 | D+9 |
| Sep 1–Sep 10 | Bowling Green State University / YouGov | 1,000 LV | 48 | 45 | D+3 |
| Aug 29–Aug 31 | Concord Public Opinion Partners Partisan | 504 LV | 49 | 37 | D+12 |
| Aug 6–Aug 10 | Fox News / Beacon–Shaw | 1,008 RV | 48 | 50 | R+2 |
| Jul 29–Aug 4 | Tulchin Research Partisan | 600 LV | 46 | 44 | D+2 |
| Jun 15–Jun 28 | New York Times / Siena | 601 LV | 47 | 47 | Tie |
| Jun 14–Jun 16 | Fabrizio Ward (R) / Impact Research (D) Excluded | 800 LV | 47 | 44 | D+3 |
| Jun 2–Jun 4 | Tulchin Research Partisan | 600 LV | 47 | 44 | D+3 |
| May 28–Jun 1 | Fox News / Beacon–Shaw | 1,015 RV | 50 | 49 | D+1 |
| Apr 7–Apr 14 | Bowling Green State University / YouGov | 1,000 RV | 47 | 48 | R+1 |
| Apr 3–Apr 9 | Echelon Insights | 413 LV | 44 | 49 | R+5 |
| Mar 13–Mar 14 | Quantus Insights | 809 LV | 46 | 45 | D+1 |
| Feb 10–Feb 22 | EMC Research Partisan | 1,343 LV | 53 | 43 | D+10 |
Source notebook
Selected sources for this page; every poll has its own source link in the table above. Reviewed 2026-10-31.
Corrections welcome: corrections@electiontracker.live. Independent coverage; no endorsement.
What to watch on November 3
Ohio polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET statewide. Benchmarks: Trump carried Ohio by 11.2 points in 2024 and DeWine won by 25 points in 2022.
Reading a race call: preliminary totals are unofficial. Media projections must name the projecting outlet; certification comes from authorized election officials.