Ohio voters made some major decisions Tuesday, with Democrat Amy Acton winning the governor’s race, former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown returning to Washington, and two Columbus ballot issues paving the way for a major City Council shake-up.
The results mark a significant night for Ohio Democrats. Acton will become the state’s first Democratic governor in 20 years and its first woman governor, while Brown defeated appointed Republican incumbent Jon Husted in the U.S. Senate race. Several congressional races also went blue, including a flip in Ohio’s 15th District. Results are preliminary and unofficial, and vote totals may change as counties finish their work.
Democrat Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy to become Ohio’s next governor. Acton’s win makes her the first Democrat elected to the office since Ted Strickland in 2006 and the first woman elected to the job.
The Associated Press called the race for Acton Tuesday night. Preliminary results put her ahead of Ramaswamy by roughly 51% to 46%.
Acton, a physician and former director of the Ohio Department of Health, campaigned on affordability and access to health care. She will replace Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who is term-limited after two terms.
Democrat Sherrod Brown is heading back to the U.S. Senate after defeating Republican incumbent Jon Husted.
Brown previously represented Ohio in the Senate from 2007 to 2025, when he lost his reelection bid to Bernie Moreno. Husted was appointed to the seat in 2025 after JD Vance became vice president.
Preliminary results showed Brown with about 49% of the vote to Husted’s 46%. The race was one of the closely watched Senate contests of the election, with control of the chamber in play.
Two U.S. House races were especially relevant to Franklin County voters.
In Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Joyce Beatty won reelection, defeating Republican challenger Cleophus Dulaney. The district includes much of the north and east sides of Franklin County.
Ohio’s 15th District flipped from Republican to Democratic control. Democrat Don Leonard defeated incumbent Republican Mike Carey. The district covers the south and west sides of Franklin County and extends into parts of the state outside the Columbus area.
The results give Democrats another seat in Ohio’s congressional delegation. Both races were called by election night, though official totals are still being finalized.
Columbus voters approved both Issue 8 and Issue 9, setting up significant changes to how City Council is elected.
Under the current system, Columbus has nine council members who each represent a district, but voters across the entire city cast ballots for all nine seats. Both approved amendments move the city toward district-only voting, meaning residents will vote for the council member representing their own district.
Issue 8, a citizen-led proposal, would make that change while keeping City Council at nine members. Issue 9, placed on the ballot by City Council, also makes the district-only voting change but adds four at-large seats, expanding council to 13 members.
With both issues passing, the city will implement the changes included in both amendments. Two new at-large seats are expected to be added in 2028, with two more following in 2030.
The result follows years of debate over how Columbus residents are represented on City Council. Supporters of the changes have argued that district-only voting gives neighborhoods a more direct voice, while the proposals also drew disagreement over the addition of at-large seats and other changes included in Issue 9.
Statewide, Ohio voters approved Issue 3, a constitutional amendment addressing the state’s voter identification requirements.
A yes vote adds Ohio’s current photo ID requirement for voting to the state constitution. The requirement is already in state law, so the amendment does not create a new photo ID rule. It would make future changes to that requirement subject to the constitutional amendment process.
Preliminary results showed the measure passing by roughly 66% to 34%.
These are election-night results, not certified totals. County boards of elections will continue processing and verifying ballots before the state certifies the results. The Ohio Secretary of State expects certified results to be published about three weeks after the election.
We’ll update this story as more results become available.
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