Ohio
Governor
On Tuesday, an uncontested Democratic primary and an uninteresting Republican race set the stage for what could be one of the most watched gubernatorial battles of the 2026 midterms.
On the Republican side, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy faced Ohio businessman Casey Putsch in the primary. Ramaswamy swept the contest, receiving 83% of the vote.
Ramaswamy largely stayed out of politics until 2020, when he backed Donald Trump in the presidential election. He entered the national spotlight as the youngest candidate in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries before withdrawing and endorsing Trump. He was briefly tapped to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Elon Musk but ultimately opted not to assume the role.
His gubernatorial campaign centers on reducing electric bills, streamlining energy project permitting, strengthening public safety, and expanding career-technical education and apprenticeships. He has also released a property tax rollback plan that promises relief for homeowners, farmers, and rural communities.
Ramaswamy will face Democratic nominee Dr. Amy Acton in November. Acton ran unopposed in Tuesday's primary, automatically advancing to the general election.
Acton previously served as Director of the Ohio Department of Health, appointed to the post by Republican Governor Mike DeWine. Her background spans preventive medicine, faculty work at The Ohio State University, and a leadership role at the Columbus Foundation focused on community health initiatives.
Her campaign platform prioritizes lowering healthcare costs, bringing transparency to the private school voucher system, expanding workforce development and skills training, and funding police and public safety. Her affordability agenda includes a tax cut for working families and cost guardrails for data centers.
Recent polling shows Ramaswamy with a narrow 1–2 point lead. In March, both the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted their race ratings from Likely Republican to Lean Republican, a signal that this fall's contest may be more competitive than initially expected.
Attorney General
Upper Arlington City Council member John Kulewicz and former state representative Elliot Forhan went head-to-head in the Democratic primary to replace incumbent Attorney General Dave Yost (R), who is term limited. Going into the race, Forhan framed his campaign around Ohio joining and leading national legal fights alongside other Democratic attorneys general while Kulewicz primarily focused on serving the needs of Ohio itself.
Kulewicz secured the party’s nomination with 63% of the vote. Kulewicz’s platform highlights his over 40-year legal career where he argued and won cases before the US Supreme Court and courts across Ohio. He has served in the Upper Arlington City Council since 2020 and successfully received the leading number of votes in his two campaigns for city council. Several notable organizations have endorsed Kulewicz including the Ohio Democratic Party, the Ohio AFL-CIO, and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce PAC.
Republican candidate Keith Faber ran uncontested, coasting towards the party’s nomination. Faber currently serves as the Ohio Auditor of State, a position previously held by Yost. His campaign leans heavily on his record as state auditor where he has spearheaded investigations leading to more than 150 convictions of public officials guilty of fraud and abuse. If elected, he would prioritize protecting constitutional rights and religious freedom, combating the state’s drug epidemic, strengthening consumer protections, and fighting against human trafficking.
State Treasurer
Current Ohio State Senator Kristina Daley Roegner and former Ohio State Representative Jay Edwards competed in the Republican primary to replace Incumbent State Treasurer Robert Sprague (R), who is running for Secretary of State.
Edwards secured the party’s nomination with 53% of the vote. He represented district 94 in the state house from 2017-2024, serving as the Finance Committee Chair where he cites having sponsored and passed a $3.2 billion dollar tax cut and universal school choice. Before running for office, he worked as a realtor and property investor.
Cincinnati Council Member Seth Walsh (D) ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for treasurer. Walsh assumed office in 2022 and maintains he has championed millions of dollars in direct economic support to grow Cincinnati’s small businesses and neighborhoods. He has worked as a nonprofit leader as Executive Director of the College Hill Urban Redevelopment Corporation. If elected he pledges to back organized labor and ensure the state’s finances are managed with integrity.
State Legislature
All 99 seats in the Ohio House of Representatives are up for reelection this year, along with 17 out of 33 seats in the senate. Twenty-nine (29) incumbents did not file for reelection, including House Speaker Pro Tempore Gayle Manning (R) who is running for a seat in the Senate to replace her son, Nathan Manning (R).
Eight incumbents did not file for reelection in the senate, including Senate President Robert McColley (R) who is running for lieutenant governor and Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D) who is termed out. Republicans are expected to maintain control of both chambers after the general election.
Indiana
State Legislature
All 100 seats in the Indiana State House of Representatives are up for reelection, along with 25 out of 50 seats in the senate. Eight house incumbents and four senate incumbents did not file for reelection.
One incumbent in the house lost their primary, along with at least six Republican senators who had refused to go along with a redistricting plan backed by President Trump. (One race is still too close to call as of this publishing.) The president endorsed the seven challengers, hosted some at the White House, and brought national attention to state legislative contests. And, Indiana Republican primary voters delivered him a sound victory to reward his efforts.
ICYMI: Louisiana
On April 30, Governor Jeff Landry (R) issued an executive order suspending Louisiana’s closed party primary elections for offices of U.S. Representative in response to the recent decision by the United States Supreme Court in Louisiana v. Callais. The ruling issued on April 29 found Louisiana’s current congressional district map to be an unconstitutional gerrymander and effectively reinstates a lower court injunction prohibiting the state from conducting congressional elections under the invalidated map. As a result, the state’s closed party primary elections for U.S. House seats, previously scheduled for May 16 and June 27, are suspended. Other offices and ballot measures scheduled for May 16 will continue as planned.