2026 Senate Race — Ohio
No 2026 Senate Race — Ohio's Senate Seats Not on Ballot
Ohio had its competitive Senate race in 2024. Sherrod Brown (D) lost to Bernie Moreno (R). Neither Ohio seat appears on the 2026 ballot.
R+8
State Partisan Lean
Safe R
Race Rating
Race Details
| Incumbent | Bernie Moreno (R) |
| Challenger(s) | No race — Moreno won in 2024 |
| Cook/Sabato Rating | Safe R |
| State Lean | R+8 |
Ohio Senate: How a Democratic Stronghold Became Safe R
| Election | Democrat | Republican | Margin | What Changed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 Senate | Sherrod Brown 56.2% | Mike DeWine (inc.) 43.8% | D+12.4 | Democratic wave year; Brown first elected in landslide in a still-swing state |
| 2012 Senate | Sherrod Brown (inc.) 50.7% | Josh Mandel 45.0% | D+5.7 | Brown re-elected despite Obama winning Ohio; his union/economic populism allowed overperformance |
| 2018 Senate | Sherrod Brown (inc.) 53.4% | Jim Renacci 46.6% | D+6.8 | Brown again massively outperformed D presidential brand (Ohio had gone R+8 in 2016) |
| 2020 Presidential | Biden 45.2% | Trump 53.3% | R+8.1 | Ohio no longer a swing state; had shifted from D+0 in 2012 to R+8 — education polarization drove rural-to-R shift |
| 2024 Senate | Sherrod Brown (inc.) 44.7% | Bernie Moreno 50.0% | R+5.3 | Brown lost despite outperforming by ~8 pts again — but can't outperform a R+8 state by enough; Moreno, a Trump-backed car dealer, won easily |
| 2024 Presidential | Harris 44.3% | Trump 55.2% | R+10.9 | Ohio now firmly in Safe R territory; no longer a presidential battleground |
Race Analysis
Ohio had a high-profile Senate race in 2024: incumbent Sherrod Brown (D), the last statewide Democrat, lost re-election to Bernie Moreno (R) by approximately 6 points. Moreno's seat is not up until 2030. Ohio has no 2026 Senate race. The Rob Portman (R) seat held by J.D. Vance (now VP) was filled by appointment — that seat is also not on the 2026 ballot. Ohio's 2026 federal focus is House races in Columbus-area and Cleveland suburbs.
State context: Ohio voted 45% Biden / 53% Trump in 2020. Senator: Bernie Moreno (R). Governor: Mike DeWine (R).