Crowded Fields in Key Ohio and Georgia 2026 Contests

Ohio and Georgia are two pivotal states shaping the post-Trump electoral map. In Georgia, Democrats hope to replicate their 2020 presidential and Senate victories, which could shift the balance in future elections. Meanwhile, Ohio has trended Republican since Obama’s 2012 win, but if Democrats can reverse that decline, its 17 electoral votes could reshape the national landscape. Both states also feature crowded Republican fields for upcoming gubernatorial and Senate races, setting the stage for potentially bruising primary battles.

For the Ohio gubernatorial race, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is the clear frontrunner on the Republican side. So far, he’s already received endorsements from President Trump, Elon Musk, and Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, and is 50 points ahead of the next candidate in an Ohio Bowling Green/YouGov poll. 

On the Democratic side, if Sherrod Brown, who served as senator from Ohio from 2007 to 2025, decides to run, the poll found that he would also have a 40-point lead in the primary. If Brown does not run, former Director of the Ohio Department of Health Amy Acton has already announced her candidacy, and former U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who lost the 2022 Senate race to J.D. Vance, would both have significant chances, according to the poll.

In the Ohio Senate special election to replace Vance, the Republican candidate is all but guaranteed to be Jon Husted, who Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed to replace Vance as senator until the special election. On the Democratic side, Sherrod Brown and Tim Ryan are both possible candidates, though the poll found that both trailed Husted in potential head-to-head matchups.

In the Georgia Senate race, Republicans have a deep bench, with four candidates polling above 10% in early primary surveys. If Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp decides not to run for Senate, after he is termed out of the governorship, a Trafalgar poll found U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was the frontrunner with 44%, while Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had 22%. U.S. Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter polled at 15% and 13.1%, respectively.

Though Greene and Raffensperger fared better than Collins in the primary poll, Collins performed significantly better when matched head-to-head against incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff. Collins trailed Ossoff by 4.7 points, compared with 11.8 points for Greene and 8.9 points for Raffensperger.

For governor, a similar slate of candidates could emerge, with the additions of Burt Jones, lieutenant governor of Georgia, and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, who has already announced his candidacy. For Democrats, there isn’t yet a clear frontrunner. Stacey Abrams, who lost the gubernatorial race to Kemp in 2018 and 2022, may have the opportunity to make another run for the seat.