COLUMBUS — A new Suffolk University poll shows Democrat Amy Acton leading the race for Ohio governor, with economic concerns weighing heavily on voters as the midterm election approaches.
The survey suggests Acton holds an edge over Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, though polling analysts caution that the findings may be an outlier. Recent public polling in Ohio has shown a much closer contest between the two candidates.
“That could be wrong,” pollster David Paleologos said of the modeling approach, noting it is impossible to know whether turnout will mirror the 2024 presidential election or a more traditional midterm electorate. “Maybe the same people who showed up for president in 2024 will show up, and you’ll have the biggest turnout ever in the history of Ohio in the midterm. No way to tell.”
The poll also surveyed 300 additional likely voters in Portage County, a longtime political bellwether east of Akron that President Donald Trump carried by 15 percentage points in 2024. There, the governor’s race was too close to call: 49 percent backed Ramaswamy, 45.67 percent supported Acton, and 4 percent chose another candidate, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.6 percentage points.
Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said the national political environment is making states that Trump won easily into competitive battlegrounds. He added that while skepticism about the Suffolk poll is fair, dismissing it entirely would also be a mistake.
“You could be sort of skeptical about polling, but I think you could also just put your head in the sand and say Republicans are going to win no matter what,” Kondik said. “And that doesn’t seem right either.”
