October 20–23, 2026

Ohio

Brown holds a narrow lead over Husted for Senate

Poll of 2,998 likely voters in Ohio · Released October 25, 2026 · Sponsored by A Fight Worth Having (super PAC, FEC C00933085); conducted by RedBox Research, AFWH's polling unit

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Races

U.S. Senate

Brown +2.6

Sherrod Brown
(D)

46.9^%

Jon Husted
(R)

44.2^%

Narrow lead, within the margin of error.

Governor

Acton +4.4

Amy Acton
(D)

48.2^%

Vivek Ramaswamy
(R)

43.8^%

Narrow lead, within the margin of error.

All candidates

U.S. Senate

Sherrod Brown (D)46.9%

Jon Husted (R)44.2%

Undecided4.4%

Prefer not to answer1.4%

Greg Levy (I)1.2%

William B. Redpath (L)0.9%

Someone else0.8%

Did not vote in this race0.1%

Governor

Amy Acton (D)48.2%

Vivek Ramaswamy (R)43.8%

Undecided3.1%

Don Kissick (L)2.3%

Someone else1.5%

Prefer not to answer1.1%

Did not vote in this race0.1%

Early voters were asked how they voted. Shares may not add to 100 because of rounding. A dash means the release doesn't report that answer.

Leaders and Congress

Hakeem Jeffries

Job approvalNet −26 · Democrats: Net +56

“Do you approve or disapprove of the way Hakeem Jeffries is handling his job as House Democratic Leader?”

All likely voters

Approve 32.1%Disapprove 58.4%Not sure

Democrats only

Approve 74.2%Disapprove 18.3%Not sure

Should he become Speaker?Someone else +27 · Democrats: Jeffries +10

“If Democrats win control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 election, should Hakeem Jeffries become Speaker of the House, or should Democrats choose someone else?”

All likely voters

Jeffries 18.6%Someone else 45.6%Doesn't matter or not sure

Democrats only

Jeffries 43.6%Someone else 33.2%Doesn't matter or not sure

Chuck Schumer

Job approvalNet −37 · Democrats: Net +35

“Do you approve or disapprove of the way Chuck Schumer is handling his job as Senate Democratic Leader?”

All likely voters

Approve 28.6%Disapprove 65.9%Not sure

Democrats only

Approve 65.1%Disapprove 30.0%Not sure

Should he become Majority Leader?Someone else +50 · Democrats: Someone else +25

“If Democrats win control of the Senate in the 2026 election, should Chuck Schumer become Majority Leader, or should Democrats choose someone else?”

All likely voters

Schumer 12.0%Someone else 61.5%Doesn't matter or not sure

Democrats only

Schumer 29.1%Someone else 54.2%Doesn't matter or not sure

Donald Trump

Job approvalNet −11 · Democrats: Net −95

“Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?”

All likely voters

Approve 43.9%Disapprove 54.5%Not sure

Democrats only

Approve 1.9%Disapprove 96.8%Not sure

Democrats in Congress

Job approvalNet −25 · Democrats: Net +66

“Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job?”

All likely voters

Approve 36.3%Disapprove 60.9%Not sure

Democrats only

Approve 81.2%Disapprove 15.4%Not sure

Republicans in Congress

Job approvalNet −15 · Democrats: Net −94

“Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job?”

All likely voters

Approve 41.8%Disapprove 56.9%Not sure

Democrats only

Approve 2.3%Disapprove 96.6%Not sure

All likely voters: 2,998, margin of error ±4.6 points. Democrats only: the 1,166 who call themselves Democrats on the party question, whatever their voter-file registration. A smaller group has a larger margin of error. All our polls

Views of institutions

Health insurance companies

FavorabilityNet −55

“Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of health insurance companies?”

All likely voters

Favorable 19.4%Unfavorable 74.8%Not familiar or no opinion

Drug companies

FavorabilityNet −61

“Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of drug companies?”

All likely voters

Favorable 16.3%Unfavorable 77.0%Not familiar or no opinion

Electric utility companies

FavorabilityNet −47

“Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of electric utility companies?”

All likely voters

Favorable 21.9%Unfavorable 68.4%Not familiar or no opinion

Large companies that own rental homes and apartments

FavorabilityNet −65

“Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of large companies that own rental homes and apartments?”

All likely voters

Favorable 9.9%Unfavorable 74.9%Not familiar or no opinion

Large banks

FavorabilityNet −31

“Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of large banks?”

All likely voters

Favorable 27.3%Unfavorable 58.3%Not familiar or no opinion

All likely voters: 2,998, margin of error ±4.6 points. Favorable and unfavorable each add “strongly” and “somewhat.”

Ohio poll: Brown has a narrow lead over Husted for Senate

Sherrod Brown has a narrow lead over Jon Husted for Senate in Ohio, 46.9% to 44.2%, in our poll of 2,998 likely voters, taken October 20 to 23. That's within the margin of error. The poll's margin of error is ±4.6 points. Undecided and other answers: 8.9%.

Amy Acton has a narrow lead over Vivek Ramaswamy for governor, 48.2% to 43.8%, within the margin of error.

Independents favor Brown, 49.6% to 34.5%. Independents are respondents who did not call themselves a Democrat or a Republican on the party question (they said independent, another party or don't know), whatever their voter-file registration. Women favor Brown, 53.4% to 38.4%. Men favor Husted, 51.4% to 39.7%.

45.6% of likely voters want someone other than Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker if Democrats win the House; 18.6% want Jeffries. Among Democrats, 33.2% want someone else. His job approval is underwater: 58.4% disapprove and 32.1% approve.

61.5% of likely voters want someone other than Chuck Schumer as Senate majority leader if Democrats win the Senate; 12.0% want Schumer. Among Democrats, 54.2% want someone else. His job approval is underwater: 65.9% disapprove and 28.6% approve.

Results by group

How each group answered every question: gender, age, race, education, party, ideology, 2024 vote, turnout and geography.

Open the crosstabs

Groups of fewer than 50 interviews are not shown; 50 to 99 are marked for caution.

Likely voters: 2,998
Margin of error: ±4.6 points
Field dates: Oct 20–23, 2026
Mode: Text message invitation to a self-administered web survey
Sponsor: A Fight Worth Having

Disclosure. Sponsored by A Fight Worth Having (super PAC, FEC C00933085); conducted by RedBox Research, AFWH's polling unit. Text message invitation to a self-administered web survey. Ohio statewide likely voters, n = 2,998, margin of error ±4.6 points including the design effect.

Full methodology · How we poll

Photos. Cropped, cut out from their backgrounds and tinted for this page.

Sherrod Brown: U.S. Senate Photographic Services; Rebecca Hammel (public domain); source: commons.wikimedia.org
Jon Husted: United States Senate (public domain); source: commons.wikimedia.org
Amy Acton: Patricio101 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Source
Vivek Ramaswamy: Xuthoria / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source
Hakeem Jeffries: Office of Representative Hakeem Jeffries (public domain). Source
Chuck Schumer: U.S. Senate Photographic Studio/Jeff McEvoy (public domain); source: schumer.senate.gov. Source
Donald Trump: Daniel Torok (public domain). Source