Republican candidates start the 2026 election cycle with measurable advantages in Ohio, according to a new Emerson College Polling survey of 1,000 registered voters conducted Aug. 18-19. In the Senate contest, first-term incumbent Jon Husted leads former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown 50% to 44%, with 7% of voters undecided. In the governor’s race, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy posts identical 49% support in two hypothetical match-ups, holding an eight-point edge over former congressman Tim Ryan and a ten-point margin over former state health director Amy Acton. The poll’s credibility interval is plus or minus three percentage points.