On the GOP’s side, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is running for governor, with Republican state Senate President Rob McColley as his running mate. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost dropped out of the gubernatorial race last May, after the state’s Republican Party coalesced behind Ramaswamy to succeed term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH). 

Ramaswamy is the decisive front-runner in the race, per polling, and holds President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Ramaswamy mounted a presidential run in 2024 and later served on Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, which sought to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in federal agencies, before launching his campaign for governor in February 2025. In his gubernatorial campaign, he has promised to roll back property taxes to pre-pandemic levels, among other initiatives. 

Casey Putsch is challenging Ramaswamy for the GOP nomination. As a business owner from northwest Ohio, Putsch has framed himself as the working-class alternative to Ramaswamy and someone who will stand up to “billionaire interests, massive corporate interests that, frankly, just end up taking advantage of all the people of Ohio.” 

The winner in Tuesday’s election will face Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton in November. Acton is the former director of the Ohio Department of Health, who attracted controversy for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including by closing schools, shuttering businesses, restricting sporting events, and suspending voting. 

She resigned in June 2020 due to backlash over her role in the state’s lockdown measures. Some of that scrutiny has been revived amid the campaign, as Ramaswamy has attacked her for spreading what he describes as dangerous “COVID ideology.” In a hypothetical matchup with Atkin ahead of the general election, Ramaswamy holds a 48%-45% lead in Decision Desk HQ’s primary average.

The Libertarian Party is also featuring several candidates. Navy veteran Don Kissick is looking to defeat Marine veteran Travis Jon Vought, a former vice president at JPMorgan Chase. The candidates support abolishing property taxes and changing Ohio’s marijuana law.

“Forty-seven percent of Ohioans are vying for an independent option or a third-party option, because they’re feeling politically homeless or vilified within their own parties,” Kissick’s running mate, James Mills, said during a visit to Lima News in February. “So, it’s the perfect time to have a third-party candidate.”

State Supreme Court

The GOP is aiming for a 7-0 majority on the court, with a four-way race underway on the Republican side to challenge Justice Jennifer Brunner, the only Democrat left in an office voted on statewide.

Ninth District Court of Appeals Judge Jill Flagg Lanzinger, former Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Colleen O’Donnell, 5th District Court of Appeals Judge Andrew King, and 2nd District Court of Appeals Judge Ronald Lewis are the four Republican rivals competing in Tuesday’s primary.

Lewis holds DeWine’s endorsement and was appointed by the governor in 2022. King has touted himself as “the pro-Trump constitutional conservative for Supreme Court judge.” O’Donnell is the daughter of now-retired Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O’Donnell. Lanzinger has served on the 9th District Court of Appeals since 2023 and was previously a judge in Summit County. She is the daughter-in-law of Republican former state Supreme Court Justice Judith Lanzinger. 

The Ohio Republican Party has not endorsed a candidate ahead of the primary. 

US Senate

Democrats are angling to flip Vice President JD Vance’s vacated seat blue in a special election this year, with former Sen. Sherrod Brown seeking to reclaim a place in the upper chamber. The latest polling gives Republicans a lead, but the race remains competitive, according to the Cook Political Report, offering Democrats a possible pickup that could help them reclaim a Senate majority come November. 

Brown, who was a senator for nearly two decades before being ousted by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) in the 2024 election, is facing challenger Ron Kincaid in the Democratic primary on Tuesday. Kincaid, a newcomer to politics, works in autism care. He is pressing for progressive policies in healthcare, including a not-for-profit public option that would compete with the private sector and set premiums based on income.

Brown holds a fundraising advantage over Kincaid. Whoever wins the Democratic primary will face Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) in the general election in November. Husted was appointed to fill Vance’s seat temporarily when Vance became vice president. 

US House

The most closely watched House race lies in northwestern Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, where Republicans are looking to flip the seat red. Kaptur holds the seat and is viewed as a vulnerable incumbent. 

On the primary Tuesday, Republican Derek Merrin is again looking to claim his party’s nomination to face Kaptur come November. Merrin narrowly lost his race against Kaptur in the 2024 election. He now faces a crowded field of GOP rivals, including former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Madison Sheahan, Republican state Rep. Josh Williams, and Air Force veteran Alea Nadeem. 

Merrin led the pack in a poll of 600 voters conducted in early April, while Williams leads the fundraising race, according to government filings. Although he endorsed Merrin in 2024, Trump has withheld his endorsement in the latest cycle, making it even more unclear who could win the primary. Sheahan’s candidacy has caused further turmoil in the campaign, as some Republicans fear her links to ICE could cost the party a rare chance to flip the seat. 

“Republicans have this terrible impression — as I’m out there knocking on doors, ICE does come up a lot, and it’s really divided the country, even some Republicans,” Nadeem said during an April debate in Toledo.

Republicans also view the 1st District as a potential pickup seat.

On Tuesday, GOP candidates Eric Conroy and Holly Adams will seek to claim their party’s nomination to face Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) in the general election. Conroy, an Air Force veteran and former CIA officer, holds Trump’s endorsement and is viewed as the front-runner in the race. 

The Cincinnati-based seat shifted slightly to the right after a redistricting measure passed last October, fueling Republican hopes of reclaiming the swing district. 

Attorney general

Republican Keith Faber is running unopposed to succeed the term-limited Dave Yost. 

On the Democratic side, former state representative Elliot Forhan and John Kulewicz are facing off to win their party’s nomination on Tuesday. Whoever wins will face Faber, the current state auditor, in November. Democrats face an outside chance of winning the election, as Yost, a Republican, defeated his opponent by about 20 points in 2022.

Both Democrats are attorneys. Kulewicz is a councilman in the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington and holds the endorsement of the Ohio Democratic Party. Forhan has sparked attention for suing legislative members of his own party in a defamation lawsuit, as well as standing by his statement that he would “kill” Trump by prosecuting him and obtaining a conviction resulting in the death penalty.

Ohio treasurer

Ohio’s treasurer race has attracted some high-profile endorsements. 

Two GOP candidates are vying on Tuesday to replace outgoing Republican Treasurer Robert Sprague. Depending on Tuesday’s results, either former state Rep. Jay Edwards or state Sen. Kristina Roegner will face Democratic candidate Seth Walsh in November. Walsh is a member of the Cincinnati City Council and is running unopposed on the Democratic side. 

Ramaswamy has endorsed Roegner. But Vance and Moreno are backing Edwards. The Ohio GOP has decided not to endorse in the race. A poll from Bowling Green State University conducted through mid-April showed Roegner and Edwards in a dead heat. At the time, 65% of Ohio voters polled said they weren’t sure which candidate they would prefer.

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Edwards recently told the Dayton Daily News he hoped to bring a younger perspective to the race. 

“I think I bring a geographic area to the ticket, an area of the ticket that’s been left behind. I’m more of a grassroots-type candidate,” Edwards said. “I’m not afraid to stand up for issues, even if it might upset the governor, even if it might upset the speaker of the House or the Senate president or the legislature.”