Poll indicates Ohio voters’ thoughts on 2026 gubernatorial contenders, as well as their approval of Trump

Published On: March 11, 2025

Poll indicates Ohio voters' thoughts on 2026 gubernatorial contenders, as well as their approval of Trump

OHIO — Bowling Green State University released a poll that shows how Ohio voters feel about President Donald Trump, candidates in the 2026 governor race and certain topics.

In partnership with the Democracy and Public Policy Research Network, the web-based poll included 800 registered Ohio voters and ran from Feb. 14 to Feb. 21.

BGSU said the margin of error is +/- 4.0 percentage points and is weighted to 2024 presidential vote choice.

Here’s what the poll found:

2026 Ohio governor race

Vivek Ramaswamy is the early favorite among Republican primary voters, according to polls. Attorney General Dave Yost is behind him, followed by Heather Hill. However, the poll notes that the surveys were conducted before Trump’s endorsement.

According to the poll, Ramaswamy is better known than the other candidates because he previously ran for president and worked with the Trump administration.

2026 Republican Governor Candidates Ohio Voters are Leaning Toward

Amy Action, the former Ohio Department of Health Director, is the only Democrat in the race thus far. The poll asked voters about other prominent Democrats in the state, such as Tim Ryan and former Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown.

If they were in a hypothetical three-way race for governor, the vast majority of respondents said they would support Brown. After Brown, it was Acton, then Ryan.

If it had been a race between Acton and Ryan, voters would have been evenly split.

2026 Ohio Senate race

While Ohio recently filled the open seat left by Vice President JD Vance with former Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, the position will open again next year.

The majority of respondents said they had no opinion about Husted. In head-to-head matchups in the poll, voters preferred Brown and Ryan over Husted.

Furthermore, the majority of voters had no opinion on Husted’s successor, former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel. Tressel has not ruled out running for office.

“Although it is early, Republicans appear to be in a strong position with all statewide offices and a Senate seat on the 2026 ballot. Midterm elections typically do not go well for the president’s party, and Democrats will need a lot of wind behind them to be competitive given recent state outcomes,” said Robert Alexander, BGSU professor of political science.

Views on Trump

Despite Trump’s previous electoral victories in Ohio, only 50% of voters in the poll approved of him, while 44% disapproved. The poll noted that this is a historically low number for a honeymoon period.

However, his approval rating in Ohio exceeds the current national polling average of 46%.

In terms of whether voters are optimistic or pessimistic about his presidency, the numbers were roughly equal (38% to 34%).

When asked if they regretted their vote in November, only 3% said they did. According to the poll, three-quarters of those who regretted voting for Trump were younger, non-white, and self-identified as independent.

“While Donald Trump has convincingly carried the Buckeye state three times, he is not having much of a traditional honeymoon with a bare majority of voters approving of the job he is doing in the Oval Office,” according to Alexander.

Thoughts on Trump policies

The poll asked voters about some of Trump’s executive orders and policies so far.

Here’s how many Ohio voters in the poll approved and disapproved of specific policies:

“We see varying degrees of support for Trump policies with Democrats and Republicans predictably lined up on opposite sides and Independents who show the most variation in what they do and don’t like about Trump’s Executive Orders. Partisanship is clearly determining how respondents view Trump’s policies,” said Alexander.

To view the full poll, click here.

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