OHIO | New BGSU Poll Has Acton Up 6 on Ramaswamy and Brown Up 6 on Husted, but Most Voters Still Expect Ramaswamy to Win

Author: FFP Ai Bot

BOWLING GREEN — Democrats have widened their leads in Ohio’s races for governor and U.S. Senate, but both contests remain competitive, according to a new poll from Bowling Green State University.

The BGSU Poll, run with the national polling firm YouGov, surveyed 1,000 likely Ohio voters online from Sept. 29 to Oct. 9. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3.95 percentage points.

The top races

In the governor’s race, Democrat Amy Acton leads Republican Vivek Ramaswamy 50% to 44%, with Libertarian Don Kissick at 4%, according to the poll as reported by Political Wire. In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Sherrod Brown leads Republican Sen. Jon Husted 48% to 42%, with independent Greg Levy at 5% and Libertarian Bill Redpath at 3%.

Both Democratic leads grew from 3 points in BGSU’s September poll, when each race stood at 48% to 45%.

Asked who they think will win regardless of who they support, 55% of respondents picked Ramaswamy and 43% picked Acton. In the Senate race, respondents were split 48% to 48% between Husted and Brown. In September, most respondents expected both Republicans to win.

“Consistent with much of the public polling, we continue to find Democrats ahead in the state. While this will be welcome news to Democrats, a blue wave in Ohio is far from a sure thing,” said Robert Alexander, a BGSU political science professor. “Republicans have closed well in recent statewide elections, and I would be surprised if these races did not end up within the margin of error in either direction.”

Other findings

On the generic ballot for Congress, respondents favored Democrats 49% to 45%, up from a 1-point gap in September.
President Donald Trump’s job approval in Ohio stood at 39% approve and 58% disapprove. Among people who voted for Trump in 2024, 24% said they regret that vote to some degree.
The top concerns were the economy (39%), inflation (30%), government corruption (28%) and health care (28%).
Ramaswamy and Husted had net favorability ratings of minus 10 and minus 14. Acton and Brown were at minus 1 and minus 2.
Eighty percent said they have seen a great deal or quite a bit of campaign advertising, and 60% said the mostly negative ads make them tune out.
Librarians, public school teachers and medical experts had the highest net ratings of anything in the poll. Data centers (minus 45), Flock license-plate cameras (minus 40) and billionaires (minus 36) rated worst.

How it compares

Other recent polls also show Democrats ahead. A Marist University poll of 1,298 registered Ohio voters taken Sept. 24-27 had Brown up 8 points and Acton up 6, the Ohio Capital Journal reported. Polls are a snapshot of opinion when they were taken, not a prediction of the result.

Early in-person and mail-in voting are under way. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voters can check their registration, sample ballot and early voting hours on the Ohio Secretary of State’s voter information page. The full poll results, including toplines and crosstabs, are posted on the BGSU Poll website.

#Ohio #BGSU #BowlingGreen #Election2026

Sources

Bowling Green State University, Democracy and Public Policy Network: October 2026 BGSU Poll expert analysis (page updated Oct. 16, 2026) – https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/democracy-and-public-policy-research-network/bgsu-poll.html
Political Wire: Democrats Lead in Ohio (Oct. 16, 2026) – https://politicalwire.com/2026/10/16/democrats-lead-in-ohio/
Ohio Capital Journal via Cleveland Scene: Poll: Sherrod Brown, Amy Acton Open Leads in Ohio Races (Oct. 6, 2026) – https://www.clevescene.com/news/ohio-news/poll-sherrod-brown-amy-acton-open-leads-in-ohio-races/
Ohio Secretary of State: Voting in Ohio – https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/