Republican Vivek Ramaswamy edged out Democrat Amy Acton in a new poll of the Ohio governor’s race, breaking a string of five recent surveys that gave Acton a lead in the state that President Donald Trump won by double digits in 2024. A new co/efficient poll, conducted on October 5 and October 6, showed Ramaswamy up 2 points over Acton, 45 percent to 43 percent among 925 likely voters. Three percent said they would back a Libertarian candidate, while 8 percent were undecided.
It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.49 percentage points. Ramaswamy's win ended up well within that measure. A series of other recent polls over the past few weeks gave Acton leads over Ramaswamy in the gubernatorial race, which is expected to be among the most competitive in the midterms.
One of those polls was also published Thursday. The CNN/SSRS poll showed Acton up 8 points, 50 percent to 42 percent among 760 likely voters. It was conducted from September 29 to October 5, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
The polls come just days after Trump campaigned in Ohio with Ramaswamy. Acton served as director of the Ohio Department of Health from February 2019 through June 2020, while Ramaswamy is an entrepreneur who rose to national prominence during his 2024 presidential campaign. Neither candidate has ever held elected office.
Newsweek reached out to the Acton and Ramaswamy campaigns for comment via email. Ohio was once a premier battleground state that drifted rightward over the past decade, backing Trump by 11 points in the most recent presidential race. But polls suggest the Buckeye State has once again become competitive in the midterms as the president’s approval numbers slip amid voter frustration with the economy.
The Ohio governor’s race presents Democrats a key test to win back voters who veered toward Republicans in recent years. Former President Barack Obama won Ohio twice, but that state also backed Trump in each of his three presidential bids as he made inroads with rural white voters. If Acton wins, she would be the first Democrat victorious in an Ohio gubernatorial race in 20 years, with Democrat Ted Strickland being the last to win in 2006.
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