# 2026 United States Senate special election in Ohio

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The 2026 United States Senate special election in Ohio will be held on November 3, 2026, following the election of Senator JD Vance as vice president of the United States, as he resigned from the Senate on January 10, 2025, and assumed the vice presidency on January 20, 2025.
According to Ohio law, if a U.S. Senate seat becomes vacant, the governor appoints a replacement who serves until December 15 following the next regularly scheduled statewide election that occurs more than 180 days after the vacancy. A special election to fill the remainder of the term is then held concurrently with that regular state election, which in this case would be the one on November 3, 2026. Governor Mike DeWine chose Jon Husted to replace Vance in the Senate.
This will be the first U.S. Senate special election in Ohio since the one to this seat in 1954.

## Background

After voting for President Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012, Ohio has trended increasingly Republican in subsequent years and is now considered a moderately to strongly red state at the federal and state level. Republicans control all statewide offices, majorities in both chambers of the state legislature, and hold both Senate seats. Republicans also have a majority of the state's House delegation.
Republican nominee Donald Trump won Ohio in 2016 and 2020 by 8 percentage points, and in 2024 grew his margin to 11 percentage points. Additionally, Republican JD Vance, now the vice president of the United States, defeated Democrat Tim Ryan in the 2022 U.S. Senate election by slightly over 6 points, while Republican Bernie Moreno defeated then-incumbent Sherrod Brown in the 2024 U.S. Senate election by slightly over 3.5 points.

## Interim appointment
### Appointee

* Jon Husted, Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (2019–2025)

### Considered but not appointed

* Matt Dolan, former state senator from the 24th district (2017–2024) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022 and 2024
* Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State (2019–present) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024
* Vivek Ramaswamy, former CEO of Roivant Sciences (2014–2023) and candidate for president in 2024
* Jane Timken, former chair of the Ohio Republican Party (2017–2021) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022

### Declined to be considered

* Mike DeWine, Governor of Ohio (2019–present) and former U.S. Senator (1995–2007)
* Dave Yost, Ohio Attorney General (2019–present) (running for governor)

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Potential

* Jon Husted, incumbent U.S. senator (2025–present)

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Publicly expressed interest

* Tim Ryan, former U.S. representative from Ohio's 13th congressional district (2003–2023) and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2022

#### Potential

* Sherrod Brown, former U.S. Senator (2007–2025)
* Greg Landsman, U.S. representative from Ohio's 1st congressional district (2023–present) (will not run if Sherrod Brown runs)
* Allison Russo, Minority Leader of the Ohio House of Representatives (2022–present) and nominee for Ohio's 15th congressional district in the 2021 special election

#### Declined

* Shontel Brown, U.S. representative from Ohio's 11th congressional district (2021–present)
* Emilia Sykes, U.S. representative from Ohio's 13th congressional district (2023–present)

## General election
### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| Inside Elections | Solid R | January 17, 2025 |
| The Cook Political Report | Likely R | February 11, 2025 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely R | February 13, 2025 |

### Polling

Jon Husted vs. Sherrod Brown
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jon Husted (R) | Sherrod Brown (D) | Undecided |
| Bowling Green State University/YouGov | February 14–21, 2025 | 800 (RV) | ± 4.0% | 47% | 41% | 12% |
Jon Husted vs. Tim Ryan
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jon Husted (R) | Tim Ryan (D) | Undecided |
| Bowling Green State University/YouGov | February 14–21, 2025 | 800 (RV) | ± 4.0% | 45% | 38% | 17% |