A new Fox News poll released Wednesday finds Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown leading Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio, with Trump’s approval also slipping in the state. The numbers land as Ohio remains a battleground that could decide control of the Senate.
For Sherrod Brown’s comeback, the pressure is coming from a place he can’t ignore: Ohio voters are starting to look past Donald Trump.
A Fox News poll released Wednesday puts Brown ahead of incumbent Republican Jon Husted in the Ohio Senate race. If the election were held now. 53% of registered Ohio voters said they would vote for Brown. while 45% said they would support Husted. The survey was conducted May 28 to June 1 and included a sample of 1,015 registered Ohio voters.
Brown’s campaign is built on familiar ground. The Democratic nominee previously served three terms in the Senate, but he lost to Bernie Moreno (R) in a bitter, closely watched race in 2024—an outcome that Republicans have treated as proof that Ohio was moving further into their column.
This poll suggests that story is wobbling. It also shows Trump’s standing weakening in the Buckeye State: 42% of voters say they have a favorable opinion of President Donald Trump. while 57% say they have an unfavorable opinion. The movement tracks with what many voters say they feel day to day—gas prices skyrocket and inflation rises across the nation.
Ohio is not just any state this year. It is a battleground, and the Senate race in November could determine whether Republicans hold on to their slim majority or Democrats win control of the upper chamber. For Democrats watching the numbers, the shift isn’t abstract. It’s a concrete opening.
The poll adds one more complication for the Republican ticket. A plurality of Ohio voters overall—46%—said Husted is too close to Trump.
In a race defined by what voters think matters most, inflation and high prices are driving attention. A plurality of Ohioans—43%—said inflation and high prices is the most important issue when it comes to their vote for senator. Healthcare comes next at 12%, followed by immigration and border security at 11%.
The same poll also paints a more divided picture for Ohio’s governor’s race. When asked who they would support if the election were held today. half said they would vote for Democratic Amy Acton (50%). a physician and former Director of the Ohio Department of Health. Nearly half—49%—said they would support Republican and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Trump’s past strength in Ohio remains a key backdrop. In the 2024 presidential election, the president carried the state by more than 11 percentage points, winning 55% of the vote. Yet the poll’s findings point to the possibility that Republicans can’t rely on that margin to travel safely into a Senate contest.
Democratic Senate strategists see a plausible path back toward power. Their bet is that Brown’s name recognition can cut through the memory of his 2024 loss—and that voters may still be ready to reverse course. They also argue that the political setup for Husted creates vulnerabilities of its own.
Husted, the Republican incumbent, was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine (R) to fill JD Vance’s seat when Vance resigned in 2025 to become vice president. The winner of the November special election will serve out the remaining two years of Vance’s Senate term, before facing another election in 2028.
The stakes of the Senate race, then, aren’t confined to a single seat. They ripple into whether the math in Washington tilts further toward Democrats—or preserves a fragile Republican majority—at a time when Ohio voters, at least on this poll, appear increasingly less persuaded by Trump’s direction.
Ohio Senate race Sherrod Brown Jon Husted Donald Trump approval Fox News poll inflation and high prices U.S. Senate control Ohio governor race Amy Acton Vivek Ramaswamy