Ohio U.S. Senate election, 2026
Candidates, November 3 election information, independent research links and where to find verified results. This is a candidate and context guide, not an endorsement or a prediction.
Our Final Call · Oct 29 projectionBrown (D) by 2Read why →The Ohio Senate race: history, data and the final week
Fox News reported Brown 52% and Husted 47% among likely voters in its October fieldwork; Marist reported 48% and 44%. Compare sampling dates and sources rather than treating either survey as a result.
How this state voted before
Brown was defeated in Ohio’s 2024 regular Senate election by Bernie Moreno. The 2026 contest is a separate special election for the remainder of the term vacated by J.D. Vance, and Jon Husted is the Republican incumbent by appointment.
Historic vote shares are descriptions of previous electorates, not a projection of the 2026 outcome. Senate and presidential voters may make different choices.
Meet the candidates
Sherrod Brown
Sherrod Brown served in the U.S. Senate until January 2025 and is running again in this special election.
Jon Husted
Jon Husted is the incumbent Republican senator, appointed to fill the vacancy after J.D. Vance left for the vice presidency.
Background: race and candidate reporting.
Issues and documented contrasts
This ballot fills the remaining term for the vacated seat, not the regular seat contested in 2024.
Recent Ohio polls use different field periods and some use different likely-voter screens.
Issue descriptions summarize publicly documented campaign positions and debates. See source reporting for full context, statements and responses.
Race timeline
Brown lost his separate regular-seat election.
Husted was appointed to the vacated Senate seat.
Fox News and Marist released likely-voter surveys.
Special general election.
Polls and polling average
Every public poll of Sherrod Brown vs. Jon Husted we have tracked since Feb 22: 37 in all, 30 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 | Brown (D) | Husted (R) | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 21–Oct 26 | Suffolk University | 500 LV | 47 | 44 | D+3 |
| Oct 20–Oct 23 | RedBox Research Partisan | 2,998 LV | 46.9 | 44.2 | D+2.7 |
| Oct 16–Oct 23 | Echelon Insights | 508 LV | 47 | 47 | Tie |
| Oct 21–Oct 22 | InsiderAdvantage | 1,200 LV | 47 | 44 | D+3 |
| Oct 1–Oct 20 | Verasight / VoteHub | 531 LV | 47.5 | 43.6 | D+3.9 |
| Oct 15–Oct 19 | Fox News / Beacon–Shaw | 1,592 LV | 52 | 47 | D+5 |
| Sep 26–Oct 18 | ActiVote Excluded | 400 LV | 49.8 | 50.2 | R+0.4 |
| Oct 15–Oct 18 | Marist Poll | LV | 48 | 44 | D+4 |
| Oct 12–Oct 14 | Rasmussen Reports | 901 LV | 47 | 49 | R+2 |
| Oct 9–Oct 13 | GS Strategy Group (R) / New River Strategies (D) | 959 LV | 49 | 43 | D+6 |
| Sep 29–Oct 9 | Bowling Green State / YouGov | 1,000 LV | 48 | 42 | D+6 |
| Oct 5–Oct 6 | co/efficient | 925 LV | 45 | 46 | R+1 |
| Sep 29–Oct 5 | CNN / SSRS | 760 LV | 49 | 43 | D+6 |
| Sep 22–Oct 1 | New York Times / Siena University | 616 LV | 49 | 46 | D+3 |
| Sep 18–Sep 30 | YouGov | 3,780 LV | 49 | 45 | D+4 |
| Sep 28–Sep 29 | InsiderAdvantage | 1,200 LV | 44 | 43 | D+1 |
| Sep 23–Sep 27 | Suffolk University | 500 LV | 47 | 44 | D+3 |
| Sep 24–Sep 27 | Marist University | 1,298 RV | 51 | 43 | D+8 |
| Sep 26–Sep 27 | Big Data Poll | 680 LV | 46 | 43 | D+3 |
| Sep 21–Sep 23 | Quantus Insights | 695 LV | 47 | 47 | Tie |
| Sep 22–Sep 23 | Rasmussen Reports | 1,115 LV | 46 | 43 | D+3 |
| Sep 14–Sep 16 | The Trafalgar Group | 1,085 LV | 45 | 42 | D+3 |
| Sep 1–Sep 10 | Bowling Green State University / YouGov | 1,000 LV | 48 | 45 | D+3 |
| Sep 8–Sep 9 | InsiderAdvantage | 1,200 LV | 47 | 42 | D+5 |
| Aug 29–Aug 31 | Concord Public Opinion Partners Partisan | 504 LV | 50 | 40 | D+10 |
| Aug 26–Aug 28 | Abacus Data | 306 LV | 52 | 46 | D+6 |
| Aug 6–Aug 10 | Fox News / Beacon–Shaw | 1,008 RV | 53 | 45 | D+8 |
| Jul 29–Aug 4 | Tulchin Research Partisan | 600 LV | 47 | 43 | D+4 |
| Jun 15–Jun 28 | New York Times / Siena University | 601 LV | 47 | 50 | R+3 |
| Jun 14–Jun 16 | Fabrizio Ward (R) / Impact Research (D) | 800 LV | 48 | 45 | D+3 |
| Jun 2–Jun 4 | Tulchin Research Partisan | 600 LV | 46 | 42 | D+4 |
| May 28–Jun 1 | Fox News / Beacon–Shaw | 1,015 RV | 53 | 45 | D+8 |
| Apr 7–Apr 14 | Bowling Green State University / YouGov | 1,000 RV | 47 | 50 | R+3 |
| Apr 3–Apr 9 | Echelon Insights | 413 LV | 45 | 51 | R+6 |
| Mar 13–Mar 14 | Quantus Insights | 784 LV | 44 | 46 | R+2 |
| Mar 3–Mar 8 | OnMessage Public Strategies Partisan | 600 LV | 47 | 45 | D+2 |
| Feb 10–Feb 22 | EMC Research Partisan | 1,343 LV | 51 | 47 | D+4 |
Final-week research notes
Fox News reported Brown 52% and Husted 47% among likely voters in its October fieldwork; Marist reported 48% and 44%. Compare sampling dates and sources rather than treating either survey as a result.
Polls measure surveyed respondents during specific field dates. Reported differences can reflect sampling, questionnaire design, sponsors or voter screens. They do not determine the November 3 outcome.
Source notebook
Selected sources for the editorial context and poll references. Survey source links also appear in the table and chart. Reviewed 2026-10-26.
Corrections welcome: corrections@electiontracker.live. This is independent informational coverage and does not endorse or forecast a candidate.
What to watch
Look for the first unofficial returns after polls close, where the votes are coming from, and whether a named decision desk has actually projected a winner. A projected winner and an official certified result are different things.
How certification works: U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Election week tools
Poll-closing countdown · Editorial change log · Congress scenarios · All 14 race guides