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COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio Democrats marked the start of the general election with incredible energy and turnout for the Democratic ticket, and Ohioans are hearing about it all around the state – and the country too. Democrats saw the highest turnout in a governor’s race year since 2006 and huge increases in urban and suburban counties. While raw Democratic vote totals were higher in most counties when compared to 2022, raw Republican vote totals were lower in most counties when compared to 2022.

In a cycle where, as Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde made clear, “it just feels like Ohio is back,” read more about how “Ohio Democrats are going to be successful because we have a positive vision to unite Ohioans from all walks of life and all political backgrounds and we have a playbook for success.”

NBC News: ‘Ohio is back’: Both parties navigate competitive midterm races in a forgotten battleground

It has been 20 years since the state last elected a Democrat as governor. And it has been even longer since a Democrat not named Sherrod Brown has won a second election to any nonjudicial statewide office.

But party leaders are daring to be optimistic in 2026, encouraged by polls that show their candidate for governor, physician Amy Acton, running close with newly official Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy. They also scored a recruiting win when Brown launched a comeback Senate bid. Brown won the Democratic nomination Tuesday to face Sen. Jon Husted, the Republican appointed to succeed Vice President JD Vance. Early polls foreshadow a close race in that contest, too.

“It just feels like Ohio is back,” said state Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde, referring to years in wilderness when, except when Brown was on the ballot, both national parties retreated from what was once a fiercely contested battleground.

Alex Triantafilou, the Ohio GOP chair, acknowledged a tough political climate for Republicans this year. President Donald Trump’s job approval ratings have fallen to new lows as he takes the rap for an unpopular war in Iran and rising gas prices that have accelerated frustrations with the economy.

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Just like when Ohio regularly decided presidential elections in past years, its 2026 races have national importance. While the Husted-Brown race could play a role in deciding who controls the Senate next year, several battleground House races could do the same in that tightly divided chamber. And the governorship is a huge prize drawing attention, too.

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Spectrum News: Ohio Democrats respond to May primary results

In low turnout primaries it’s hard to gauge which party has the advantage for November.

But Democrats in Ohio may have more reason to hope than they’ve had in years. Mid-term elections are a referendum on the party and the President in power.

President Trump’s aggregate approval rating is below 40%, according to Cook Political Report. Gas prices are near record levels and inflation remains entrenched, but the Democrats have a popularity problem of their own. A recent survey shows they have a 39% approval rating.

Capital This Week host Curtis Jackson sits down with the Chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, Kathleen Clyde, to learn more about her plan for Democrats to return to the governor’s office.

Signal: Ohio Democrats nearly matched GOP primary turnout. Does it matter for November?

Democratic primary turnout rebounds

Democratic turnout in Ohio’s 2026 primary rebounded sharply on Tuesday, nearly matching Republican participation after trailing badly just four years earlier.

791,355 Ohioans requested Democratic ballots for the election, and 817,159 requested Republican ballots. That’s compared to 2022, when more than 1 million Ohioans requested Republican ballots against 540,000 Democratic ones.

The improved Democratic turnout occurred despite the top of the ticket – governor and U.S. Senate – lacking competitive races this year for both parties. Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde said that, overall, state Democrats saw their highest turnout in a primary midterm election since 2006 – a year that was a high-water mark for the party.

“I look at the similarities in the cycles. We’re in the second term of an unpopular Republican president,” Clyde said.

Looking at the numbers, Republicans saw ballot requests drop in most counties – with some of the biggest percentage drops happening in large urban counties and western Ohio.

The largest Democratic increases happened in the Columbus and Cincinnati areas – general areas of growth for the party – including in Butler County, where Democratic ballot requests doubled to around 15,000. Democratic requests were down in some areas where the party has struggled, like eastern and western Ohio.

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Statehouse News Bureau: Primary voters have spoken. Now the chairs of Ohio’s major parties are looking to November

With the primary over, the chairs of Ohio’s two major parties know who will be on the ballot in November. The major party leaders are now focusing their messaging on those choices made by primary voters.

Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde said she’s excited about the party’s candidates going into November.

“Ohio Democrats are going to be successful because we have a positive vision to unite Ohioans from all walks of life and all political backgrounds and we have a playbook for success,” Clyde said in an interview.

Clyde said voters are rejecting the current economic climate and are focused on affordability. That, she said, shapes the message of her candidates: “Ohio Democrats are focused on lowering the costs that keep Ohioans up at night, like for housing, healthcare, groceries, utilities, childcare, and more.”

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COLUMBUS, OH – A disturbing development surrounding Republican Congressman Max Miller is shedding further light on allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife – the daughter of Republican Senator Bernie Moreno. Miller’s ex-wife has also accused Miller of abusing drugs.

“Some issues shouldn’t be partisan – investigating allegations of abuse and condemning offenders should be one of them, and Max Miller’s record of alleged abuse is disgusting for anyone, and is reprehensible for a member of Congress,” said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Marisa Nahem. “These new details surrounding the allegations of abuse against Max Miller by his ex-wife are horrific – and Ohioans won’t accept this in November.”

These new disturbing details aren’t the first allegations of abuse against Miller and build on his long track record of abuse and dangerous behavior. Ohioans who have known Miller have described him as “a cocky bully with a quick-trigger temper,” and someone with “an anger problem,” who “could be very scary.” 

Read more on Miller’s pattern of dangerous behavior: 

• Miller’s ex-girlfriend, former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, described their relationship as “abusive” in her published memoir, with reporting detailing that Miller pushed Grisham “against a wall and slapped her in the face” in his D.C. apartment, threw a dog toy at her, and grabbed her at the elevator as she tried to leave after arguments.
• In high school, witnesses detailed how Miller pushed a teenage girl down a flight of stairs in his family home after she resisted his attempts to touch her. 
• Miller has been charged with assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest after punching a man and fleeing police in 2007; cited for speeding twice in 2007 and 2008; cited for criminal mischief after smashing through a glass door during a 2 a.m. confrontation outside a hookah bar in 2010; and, in April 2011, charged with Ohio’s equivalent of a DUI.

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COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio Democrats have “set sights on protecting, adding to Ohio Supreme Court seats,” as attacks on Ohioans’ freedoms escalate – like on voting rights and abortion access. Democrats barrel into the general election with strong candidates in Justice Jennifer Brunner and Judge Marilyn Zayas who are committed to upholding the rule of law and protecting Ohioans’ rights and freedoms.

While Republicans’ candidate attempting to go against Justice Brunner enters the general election with a long ways to go in uniting GOP support after a crowded primary, Democrats are united around Justice Brunner, and Judge Zayas, who are making clear that “the state is at a crossroads,” and people “are losing faith in our court because of politics.”

Read more about Democrats’ opportunity in 2026 to elect Justices to the Supreme Court who will uphold the rule of law and defend Ohioans’ freedoms.

Ohio Capital Journal: Democrats set sights on protecting, adding to Ohio Supreme Court seats

Democratic judges have an uphill battle to change the 6-1 Ohio Supreme Court, where Justice Jennifer Brunner is an island unto herself in a sea of Republican justices. But she and another judge making a run for a seat in November sense a change in the winds when it comes to Democratic support, both in the judicial system and elsewhere.

“As I travel the state, I am taken by the movement, the energy, the sort of undertow that I’m sensing from the counties around the state,” Brunner said at the Ohio Democratic Party’s primary night event on Tuesday.

Brunner has been on the court since 2021, but until last year, she shared the bench with two other Democratic justices.

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Brunner will now face off against Republican challenger and former Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Colleen O’Donnell, who edged out a crowded primary field of appellate judges on Tuesday, garnering 32% of the vote in unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State.

She succeeded in the election with a margin of less than 18,000 votes between her and her closest opponent, Fifth District Court of Appeals Judge Andrew King.

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Brunner told the crowd of Democratic supporters that she wants to be “part of the foundation and the strong shoulders that people like (governor candidate Dr.) Amy Acton can stand on.”

She said the energy she’s seen from voters shows a dissatisfaction with the way government is working, particularly the Republican leadership at the federal level.

“We know we all have problems in our lives … and every time we look up thinking we might get a little hope, what we get out of Washington is this din, and this craziness, and this sense that this is not our country,” she said.

If Brunner loses the Nov. 3 election, and Justice Dan Hawkins defends his seat against a Democratic challenger, First District Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas, the Ohio Supreme Court will be a full 7-0 Republican panel.

In her campaign to join Brunner on the court, Zayas also feels a different energy in the 2026 election.

“I’m seeing how we are losing faith in our court because of politics, and politics has no place in our Ohio Supreme Court,” said Zayas, who was unopposed in her primary race.

Zayas said the state is at a crossroads, one in which wins for the two Democrats in 2026 could provide opportunities for more judges in 2028.

“We have to do this, because the alternative is way too dire,” Zayas said.

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