Ohio governor's race poll: Ramaswamy a favorite, Sherrod Brown has strong backing

Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy appears to be an early GOP favorite in the 2026 Ohio governor’s race, while former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) leads among Democrats, according to a recent poll.

The poll — conducted in February by Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Democracy and Public Policy Research Network and YouGov — shows Ramaswamy leading the pack of Republican candidates in the race, with 61 percent support from prospective GOP primary voters in Ohio.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Heather Hill follow, with 24 percent support and 9 percent support, respectively.

The BGSU/YouGov poll shows Ramaswamy is more well known than the other two candidates, which pollsters said “is likely driving much of his early support.”

They also noted that the survey was conducted before President Trump endorsed Ramaswamy’s candidacy.

The poll examined the state of the Democratic primary race — which so far includes only one candidate, former Ohio Health Director Amy Acton.

Pollsters asked prospective Democratic primary voters about Acton, as well as two other mainstays in Democratic politics in Ohio: Brown, who lost his Senate reelection bid in 2024, and former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the upper chamber against Vice President Vance in 2022.

Asked which candidate they would like to be the Democratic nominee for governor in 2026, 59 percent of prospective Democratic Ohio voters said Brown, 20 percent said Acton and 17 percent said Ryan.

In a hypothetical two-way contest between Acton and Ryan, prospective Democratic primary voters were split 46 percent to 45 percent, respectively.

The poll was conducted Feb. 14-21, 2025, and included 800 Ohio registered voters. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.