With just weeks to go before the general election season begins in Ohio, several polls of statewide elections in the Buckeye State show close races. This includes the gubernatorial race to see who will replace term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
Vivek Ramaswamy is the front-runner for the Republican nomination, having been endorsed by the Ohio Republican Party and President Donald Trump. Dr. Amy Acton is running unopposed as a Democrat.
It may be a close race. The Cook Political Report considers it as “Lean Republican.”
Multiple polls have been released in recent days regarding a Ramaswamy-Acton matchup, including those showing a race that’s within the margin of error.
According to a poll from Bowling Green State University/YouGov, Ramaswamy leads Acton with 48% of the vote to her 47%.
Ramaswamy and Acton are about even in their favorable ratings (33% and 32%, respectively), though more voters say they have neither a favorable nor unfavorable view of Acton than Ramaswamy, 41% versus 28%.
The poll was conducted April 7-14 with 1,000 Ohio registered voters and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9%.
On Tuesday, Echelon Insights released a poll, conducted April 3-9, showing Ramaswamy leading 49% to 45% among likely voters. That poll included 413 voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.8%.
“Vivek is laser-focused on the issues that matter to Ohioans—lower costs, bigger paychecks, and better schools. These polls are just another indicator that his message is resonating with voters all across the state,” Ramaswamy campaign spokesperson Evan Machan said in a statement to The Daily Signal.
“Meanwhile Amy Acton is pushing out an agenda that would bankrupt the state and cost Ohio’s families $21 billion in new government spending.”
The Daily Signal reached out to the Acton campaign but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Another poll conducted last month, from the Coalition to Protect American Workers, showed Ramaswamy leading Acton among union households, 48% to 41%.
That poll included 500 union household members in Ohio with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4%.
The close margins could indicate that the race is tight. While speaking at an Ohio Young Republicans event in late January, Ramaswamy addressed the issue of running in a midterm year and how he sees “complacency as [the] top risk this year.”
He warned attendees about Ohio in 2026 becoming like Ohio in 2006, when “state Democrats took [Republicans] by surprise and won the governor’s race and took back control of the Ohio House,” with Ramaswamy arguing such a move “sent this state back by decades.”