Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, Amy Acton, left. (Campaign photo). On the right, Republican candidate for Ohio governor, Vivek Ramaswamy. (Getty Images.)
Ohioans will vote for a modern governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state and treasurer this November. Ohio Supreme Court seats and a highly competitive congressional race will also appear on the ballot.
The primary elections will be held in May and will determine the final composition of the electoral commission at the end of the year.
All current statewide executive position holders are term-limited, meaning they cannot run for the same position again.
Ohio’s filing deadline was Wednesday, and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s position published the list of candidates running in this state.
Voters will first see the primary election on May 5, followed by the general election on November 3.
Governor
Ohio’s gubernatorial race is expected to become one of, if not the largest the most pricey in the history of the country.
Former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton is running as the Democratic nominee, and her running mate is David Pepper, former Ohio Democratic chairman.
Entrepreneur and 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is running for the Republican Party, and his candidate is Ohio Senate President Rob McColley.
Casey Putsch, founder of the automotive nonprofit Genius Garage, is running for the Republican Party against Kimberly Georgeton.
Heather Hill, an Appalachian businesswoman, is running as a Republican Stuart Moats as her running mate.
Entrepreneur Renea Turner is running as a Republican Jalen Turner as her running mate. In 2020, she made headlines after she was accused of attempting to make a citizen’s arrest of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
Running under the banner of libertarianism, former Honda employee Donald Kissick is running with James Mills as his running mate.
US Senate
Incumbent Republican United States Senator from Ohio Jon Husted is running for re-election.
Former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is running as the Democratic candidate.
Ron Kincaid, a Special Olympics volunteer coach, is also running on the Democratic side.
Jeffrey Kanter and William Redpath are running as Libertarian candidates.
Brown is considered the Democratic front-runner to challenge Husted and is currently ahead of the incumbent senator in fundraising.
Who is running for attorney general?
Current Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber is running for the Republican Party.
Former Democratic state representative Elliot Forhan is running as the Democratic nominee.
John Kulewicz, a retired lawyer and Upper Arlington City Council member, is running as the Democratic candidate.
Auditor
Current Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is running for the Republican Party.
Maple Heights Mayor Annette Blackwell is running as the Democratic nominee.
Secretary of State
Current Treasurer of Ohio Robert Sprague he is running as a Republican.
Ohio State Representative Allison Russo he is running as the Democratic candidate.
Bryan Hambleyan oncologist at University of Cincinnati Health, is also running as a Democratic candidate.
A retired Air Force intelligence officer also works in the Republican field Marcel Strbich.
2024 congressional candidate Tom Pruss is running as a Libertarian.
State Treasurer
State Senator Kristina Roegner is running for the Republican Party.
Former state Republican Jay Edwards is also running for the Republican Party.
Member of the Cincinnati City Council Seth Walsh is running on the Democratic ticket.
Supreme Court of Ohio
There will be two Ohio Supreme Court races on the ballot in 2026.
Ohio Democratic Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner is running for re-election as the only Democrat elected to the state’s top government position. A handful of GOP candidates are challenging Brunner’s seat: Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Andrew King, state appellate judge Jill Lanzinger, Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ron Lewis and former Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Colleen O’Donnell.
Brunner is the only Democratic justice on the Ohio Supreme Court with a 6-1 record.
Republican Ohio Supreme Court Justice Dan Hawkins is running for re-election against Democratic challenger, First Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas.
The last time a Democratic candidate won any statewide executive office in Ohio was in 2006, when Ted Strickland was elected governor, Marc Dann was elected attorney general, Richard Cordray was elected treasurer and Brunner was elected secretary of state.
Follow the OCJ reporter Megan Henry in Bluesky.
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