If politics were a baseball game, Ohio would have stopped swinging years ago. In fact, Ohio doesn’t seem to swing at all on the political spectrum anymore. As Ohio’s political institutions trend rightward, there is still, however, a serious opportunity for the state to adopt its past political ways and remain a competitive state for Democrats, not just Republicans.
For decades, Ohio was known as a “bellwether,” a deciding state whose election results often mirrored major political trends across the country. This status gave Ohio voters a special privilege not enjoyed by all American voters: Every vote counted toward flipping state and national seats.
Yet, things have changed over the past couple decades. For example, Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Republican, ousted former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, in the 2024 United States Senate election by four percentage points.
A state whose leaders consistently proved their abilities to govern in competitive elections now consistently elects one party to control most of its functions. For example, both chambers of the Ohio legislature contain Republican supermajorities. The Ohio Senate has 23 Republicans to Democrats’ 9, and the Ohio House of Representatives has 65 Republicans to Democrats’ 34.
However, Ohio’s delegation in the U.S. Senate has been consistently more competitive. Brown served from 2007 to 2025, fending off challengers in three election cycles. And he is running again this year in Ohio’s special election against current Sen. John Husted.
2026 is a particularly tricky year for politics in Ohio, not because the voters themselves are changing, but external federal pressures are swiftly changing how we think about government. More specifically, voters are thinking about the role our federal representatives play in government.
Everyday consumer items are quickly becoming more costly for worried voters. Take the price of gas, which at this time two years ago cost about $2.87 but now costs about $3.90 in Ohio. This week’s average in Athens is even worse, with gas costing about $4 on average.
Even though gas is only one facet of our lives, it plays a large role in how we get to work, interact with each other and provide essential services. It is no wonder a poll from Pew Research Center found 74% of U.S. adults were concerned about the price of food and consumer goods.
This shows how today’s particularly fraught political environment is dependent on good candidate quality but even more so on good gas prices, among other economic factors. As such, this election season will show how Ohio voters, grappling with high state inflation rates and stagnant prices, will choose who represents them in Congress.
Perhaps this frustration with our current government is less with Husted himself, but rather a frustration with his allies in Congress and the White House. As recently as last month, President Donald Trump asked voters to shoulder the cost of higher gas prices for now.
“When you have to pay a little bit more, your $4, it’s OK,” he said. “I will never apologize, I did the right thing.”
Asking some voters to pay an additional dollar on gas every time they go to the pump is asking them to bear the responsibility of international conflicts they had no say in starting. Additionally, this creates a connection between unpopular Trump policies and Husted’s actions in supporting them during the 119th Congress.
Husted’s votes in the Senate align closely with Trump’s agenda, with CQ Roll Call rating his voting record 100% in support of Trump’s supported policies. This will be a proving point for voter behavior, especially given general economic concerns.
Because of this, there are pathways in which challengers like Brown and Amy Acton, Ohio’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, can push their Republican challengers toward competitive races. In this election, every citizen’s vote truly matters.
When given the choice of representation, it will matter just as much to Ohio voters about who puts money in their pocket as who becomes a political pundit under Trump’s presidential politics.
Aiden is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Aiden about his column? Email him at ar260223@ohio.edu.
