Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown led appointed Republican Sen. Jon Husted, 52% to 47%, in a Fox News poll of likely Ohio voters conducted Oct. 15-19, 2026. The survey found Brown with higher favorability and stronger support among women, while Husted held advantages among men and rural voters.

Brown’s favorability stood at 50% favorable and 48% unfavorable. Husted’s was 42% favorable and 55% unfavorable. Brown’s supporters were also somewhat more certain of their choice: 88% said their vote was certain, compared with 83% of Husted’s backers.

The poll found household finances were a significant concern. Forty-six percent said their financial situation had worsened over the previous two years, while 19% said it had improved. Among voters who reported worsening finances, Brown led by 49 points. Husted led by 51 points among those whose finances had improved and by 24 points among those who said their situation was unchanged.

President Donald Trump’s job approval in Ohio was 43%, while 57% disapproved; 46% said they strongly disapproved. Trump carried Ohio with 55% of the vote in 2024, according to the supplied poll report. Asked about the candidates’ political alignment, 52% said they were concerned Husted was too close to Trump, including 38% who were extremely concerned. Half said they were concerned Brown was too liberal, with 30% extremely concerned.

Women backed Brown by 14 points, and men supported Husted by 4 points. Brown also led among voters under 35, college graduates, union voters, and urban and suburban residents. Husted’s stronger groups included rural voters, non-college White men, married voters, and voters 65 and older, among whom he had a narrow advantage.

The poll reported that 90% of Republicans supported Husted, while 9% backed Brown. Brown received support from 97% of Democrats, with 2% choosing Husted. Brown also led among independents by nearly two to one. Voters who viewed both Senate candidates unfavorably favored Husted by nearly 20 points.

Brown’s lead was 9 points among voters who said they were extremely interested in the election. Among the 15% who said they had already voted, he led by 29 points. On control of the U.S. Senate, Ohio voters favored Democrats 50% to 48%.

In the governor’s race, Democrat Amy Acton led Republican Vivek Ramaswamy 50% to 48%. Women favored Acton by 10 points, while men backed Ramaswamy by 7. The poll found some ticket-splitting: 8% of Brown supporters backed Ramaswamy, and 6% of Husted supporters favored Acton. The survey was completed before a negative Ramaswamy campaign television ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother became public.

Beacon Research, identified as Democratic, and Shaw & Company Research, identified as Republican, jointly directed the survey. It interviewed 2,005 registered Ohio voters selected from a statewide voter file. Interviews included 219 landline calls, 1,306 cellphone calls, and 480 online responses after text invitations. The results for the registered-voter sample have a stated margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points; the same margin applies to the 1,592 likely-voter subsample. The poll notes that subgroup sampling error is higher and that question wording and order can affect results.