On Nov. 3rd, the state of Ohio will begin voting in the midterms to determine the governorships, U.S. Senate, state legislatures and more important political standings.
The primaries are underway, with the midterm elections to follow. The primary elections are just as important to vote in, as it determines what candidates voters will see on the ballots.
Ohio voters have the opportunity to participate in several elections this year. Primary elections determine which candidates will advance to the general election, while special elections allow voters to decide certain local issues or fill vacant offices outside the regular election schedule.
Voting in the primary allows Ohioans to help determine which candidates will appear on the general election ballot. You can get registered to vote or check your voter registration online. Ohioans who are 17 may vote in a primary if they turn 18 by the general elections, although they may only vote on candidate nominations – not ballot issues. If not, you can use your voice to speak out online, at protests, doing surveys and signing local petitions.
The current candidates for the U.S. Senate include John Husted, Sherrod Brown, Bill Redpath and Greg Levy.
Jon Husted
U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, born in 1967 has a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in communications from the University of Dayton. He is the current U.S. senator from Ohio with his political affiliation being Republican.
Husted began his political career in the Ohio House of Representatives after winning elections in 2000. He served as speaker of the House from 2005 to 2009 before joining the Ohio Senate. He then became Ohio secretary of state in 2011 and served two terms. Voters elected him lieutenant governor in 2018, and he assumed office in 2029. In January 2025, Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance.
Husted has endorsements from President Donald Trump, Ohio Republican Party and politician Vivek Ramaswamy. In 2025, Mike DeWine appointed Husted to replace current Vice President J.D. Vance in the senate.
According to his campaign, Husted supports pro-business policies, and a capitalist state with career programs, supporting tariffs, saving tax payers money, protecting families, supporting the development of data centers and border security with enforcement.
Sherrod Brown
Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic candidate in Ohio’s 2026 special Senate election, was born in Mansfield, OH in 1952. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Russian studies from Yale, as well as graduate degrees in education and public administration from Ohio State University.
Brown began his political career serving as the youngest representative for the Ohio House of Representatives in 1974. He later served as the Ohio Secretary of State, and represented Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives.Brown served as a U.S. senator from Ohio from 2007 to 2025. He lost his 2024 reelection campaign to Republican Bernie Moreno.
Brown is now challenging Republican U.S. Sen Jon Husted for the Senate seat Husted was appointed to fill in 2025.
Brown’s campaign focuses on reducing health care and prescription drug costs, requiring data centers to pay the full cost of their utilities and preventing insurance companies from denying doctor-recommended care. He also supports prohibiting members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks and preventing former lawmakers from becoming lobbyists.
“I will always look out for the best interests of Ohioans,” Brown said. “Together in November, we will make sure Ohio has a senator who works for the people of Ohio, not special interests and billionaires.”
Bill Redpath
Libertarian candidate Bill Redpath was born in 1957 in Findlay, OH. He has a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Indiana State University and a MBA from The University of Chicago.
Redpath is a nine-time candidate for public office and has been part of the Libertarian National Community for over 24 years, becoming Chair from 2006 to 2010. His official website states that he’s been running Libertarian Party (LP) drives since 1990, leading to the success to place the LP’s presidential ticket on the ballot. He is also in the Libertarian Party Hall of Liberty, being one of 25 members after being inducted by Texas representative, Ron Paul.
According to his campaign, Redpath is in favor of ending the war with Iran and ending our allyship with Israel, impeaching President Trump, repealing tariffs, legalizing the use of marijuana, pro-immigration services, reducing government funding and eliminating the two-party voting system.
“My core philosophy: people should be able to live their own lives as they choose, without interference, as long as they do not harm other people or their property,” said Redpath. “To that end, my campaign calls for reduced government spending, lower taxes and real respect for civil liberties.”
Greg Levy
Socialist Greg Levy is a U.S. veteran and a first time runner for senate, running Independent but on a socialist platform. Being part of the “poverty draft” he joined the military in order to receive funding for college. However, his son was born during his time in the military, leading to Levy never going to college due to finances. This is what led Greg Levy to wanting to make a change for the working class.
He started campaigning against police brutality and a lack of healthcare. Now he is running for senate in order to make a difference in lower class areas and protecting the POC community.
Levy is campaigning to build a new economy that helps the working class, fix the climate crisis, eliminate the pentagon budget, cut all funding to Israel, abolishing ICE, free abortions, creating a new foreign policy and tax the rich higher.
“There are two choices: it’s capitalism or it’s socialism. We choose socialism because it’s possible and necessary. We know we cannot wish socialism into existence – it takes political organization and uniting millions of people of all backgrounds for a common goal and a common vision,” said Levy. “…we have no choice but to take power from the tiny elite and give it to the vast majority – to the water protectors, the climate activists, the students, the political prisoners, the immigrants, the farmers, the women, the workers, the poor, the LGBTQ fighters, the anti-racist organizers.”
While the primary for governor already happened in May, we know the current candidates running for governor are Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Born in Cincinnati, OH, republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy earned a degree in biology from Harvard in 2007, later achieving his law degree from Yale in 2013. He has founded multiple companies, Campus Venture Network and Roivant Sciences. He is currently the co-founder and chairman at Strive Assessment Management.
Ramaswamy has been endorsed by Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, late political podcaster Charlie Kirk and Ohio’s current governor, Mike Dewine. Originally running in the 2024 Presidential election, Ramaswamy decided to run for Ohio governor in Feb. 2025 after deciding to not join the Department of Government Efficiency with Elon Musk.
His campaign states that he is in favor of making Ohio the most economically affordable state, enforce stricter bail for repeat offenders, raising academic standards, make electricity in homes free if a data center is built nearby, tax burden relief, ban children under the age of 16 from the use of social media, raise the voting age to 25 and place a six-week abortion ban.
Dr. Amy Acton
From Youngstown, OH, Dr. Amy Acton is a democratic candidate running for governor. After facing homelessness and abuse, Acton earned her MD from Northeast Ohio Medical University and her MPH from The Ohio State University. Appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine, Acton served as the Director of the Ohio Department of Health from Feb. 26th, 2019, until June 12th, 2020.
The democratic candidate is endorsed by many major Ohio groups including the Ohio Nurses Association, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and Ohio Education Association.
Dr. Acton campaigns for the creation of an Anti-Corruption task force, lower energy costs, invest in addiction treatment, keeping abortion legal, lowering the cost of health care, place new anti-discrimation laws, data center transparency, maintain environmental standards and keeping Ohio safe for working families.
“As governor, my number one priority will be to secure a tax cut for Ohio’s working families to put money back in their pockets, lift families out of poverty, and make sure Ohioans see their hard work pay off.” says Acton “This state has put special interests and wealthy elites before working families in this state for far too long.”
