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Republican Party primaries in Ohio, 2026

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2024

Republican Party primaries, 2026

Ohio Republican Party.png

Primary Date
May 5, 2026

Federal elections
Republican primaries for U.S. House

State party
Republican Party of Ohio
State political party revenue

This page focuses on the Republican primaries that will take place in Ohio on May 5, 2026.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Ohio law provides for closed primaries, meaning a voter must be affiliated with a party to vote in that party's primary. However, a voter of any affiliation can choose the ballot they would like to vote on the day of the primary, and their choice may be regarded as registration with that party.[1][2]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Federal elections

U.S. House

See also: United States House elections in Ohio, 2026 (May 5 Republican primaries)
The U.S. House of Representatives elections in Ohio are scheduled on November 3, 2026. Voters will elect 15 candidates to serve in the U.S. House from each of the state's 15 U.S. House districts. The primary is May 5, 2026. The filing deadline is February 4, 2026. To see a full list of candidates in the primary in each district, click "Show more" below.
Show more

District 1

Republican Party Republican primary candidates

Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

District 2

Republican Party Republican primary candidates

Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

District 3

Republican Party Republican primary candidates

Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

    District 4

    Republican Party Republican primary candidates

    Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

    District 5

    Republican Party Republican primary candidates

    Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

    District 6

    Republican Party Republican primary candidates

    Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

    District 7

    Republican Party Republican primary candidates

    Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

    District 8

    Republican Party Republican primary candidates

    Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

    District 9

    Republican Party Republican primary candidates

    Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

    District 10

    Republican Party Republican primary candidates

    Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

    District 11

    Republican Party Republican primary candidates

    Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

      District 12

      Republican Party Republican primary candidates

      Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

      District 13

      Republican Party Republican primary candidates

      Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.


      Did not make the ballot:

      District 14

      Republican Party Republican primary candidates

      Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

      District 15

      Republican Party Republican primary candidates

      Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

      State elections

      State Senate

      See also: Ohio State Senate elections, 2026
      Elections for the Ohio State Senate will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026. The primary is May 5, 2026. The filing deadline is February 4, 2026. To see a full list of state Senate candidates in the Republican primaries, click "Show more" below.
      Show more

      Ohio State Senate elections, 2026

      • Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
      • The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
      • Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
      Office Democratic Party Democratic Republican Party Republican Other
      District 1


      James Hoops
      Craig Riedel

      District 3
      District 5


      Rodney Creech
      Phil Plummer

      District 7


      Zac Haines
      Scott Lipps

      District 9
      District 11
      District 13

      Joseph A. Miller III

      Gayle L. Manning

      District 15
      District 17
      District 19
      District 21
      District 23
      District 25
      District 27


      Steve Demetriou

      District 29
      District 31
      District 33


      House of Representatives

      See also: Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2026
      Elections for the Ohio House of Representatives will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026. The primary is May 5, 2026. The filing deadline is February 4, 2026. To see a full list of state House candidates in the Republican primaries, click "Show more" below.
      Show more

      Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2026

      • Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
      • Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
      • The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
      • Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
      Office Democratic Party Democratic Republican Party Republican Other
      District 1
      District 2
      District 3
      District 4
      District 5
      District 6
      District 7
      District 8
      District 9
      District 10
      District 11
      District 12
      District 13
      District 14
      District 15
      District 16
      District 17
      District 18

      Samuel Grube  Candidate Connection


      District 19
      District 20
      District 21
      District 22
      District 23
      District 24
      District 25
      District 26
      District 27


      Elizabeth Maier

      District 28
      District 29
      District 30
      District 31
      District 32
      District 33
      District 34
      District 35


      Ryan Britt  Candidate Connection

      District 36
      District 37
      District 38
      District 39
      District 40


      Lew Lainhart  Candidate Connection
      Jeffrey Todd Smith

      District 41
      District 42
      District 43
      District 44
      District 45
      District 46
      District 47
      District 48
      District 49
      District 50
      District 51
      District 52


      Nathan Manning

      Did not make the ballot:
      Greg Fanning  Candidate Connection

      District 53
      District 54
      District 55
      District 56
      District 57
      District 58
      District 59
      District 60
      District 61
      District 62
      District 63
      District 64
      District 65
      District 66
      District 67
      District 68
      District 69
      District 70
      District 71
      District 72
      District 73
      District 74
      District 75
      District 76
      District 77
      District 78
      District 79
      District 80
      District 81
      District 82
      District 83
      District 84
      District 85
      District 86
      District 87
      District 88
      District 89
      District 90
      District 91
      District 92
      District 93
      District 94
      District 95
      District 96
      District 97
      District 98
      District 99


      State executive offices

      See also: Ohio state executive official elections, 2026

      Eleven state executive offices are up for election in Ohio in 2026:

      Governor
      Lieutenant Governor
      Attorney General
      Secretary of State
      Auditor
      Treasurer
      State Board of Education (5 seats)


      To see a full list of candidates in the Republican primaries, click "Show more" below.
      Show more

      Governor of Ohio

      Republican primary candidates

      Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.


      Did not make the ballot:
      Candidate Connection = candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

      Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

      Republican primary candidates

      Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

        Attorney General of Ohio

        Republican primary candidates

        Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

        Ohio Secretary of State

        Republican primary candidates

        Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.


        Candidate Connection = candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

        Ohio Auditor of State

        Republican primary candidates

        Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

        Ohio Treasurer

        Republican primary candidates

        Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.


        Candidate Connection = candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

        State supreme court

        See also: Ohio Supreme Court elections, 2026
        The terms of two Ohio Supreme Court justices will expire on January 1, 2027. The two seats are up for partisan election on November 3, 2026. The primary is May 5, 2026. The filing deadline is February 4, 2026. To see a full list of candidates in the primaries, click "Show more" below.
        Show more

        Jennifer Brunner's seat

        Republican primary candidates

        Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

        Dan Hawkins' seat

        Republican primary candidates

        Note: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

          State court of appeals

          See also: Ohio intermediate appellate court elections, 2026
          The terms of twenty Ohio intermediate appellate court judges will expire on December 31, 2026. The twenty seats are up for partisan election on November 3, 2026. The primary is May 5, 2026. The filing deadline is February 4, 2026. To see a full list of candidates in the primaries, click "Show more" below.
          Show more

          Voting information

          See also: Voting in Ohio

          Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.


          Context of the 2026 elections

          Ohio Party Control: 1992-2025
          No Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-seven years of Republican trifectas
          Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

          Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
          Governor R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
          Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
          House D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

          State party overview

          Republican Party of Ohio

          See also: Republican Party of Ohio


          State political party revenue

          See also: State political party revenue and State political party revenue per capita

          State political parties typically deposit revenue in separate state and federal accounts in order to comply with state and federal campaign finance laws.

          The Democratic Party and the Republican Party maintain state affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and select U.S. territories. The following map displays total state political party revenue per capita for the Republican state party affiliates.


          Pivot Counties

          See also: Pivot Counties by state

          Nine of 88 Ohio counties—10.2 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

          Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
          County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
          Ashtabula County, Ohio 18.80% 12.78% 13.54%
          Erie County, Ohio 9.48% 12.29% 13.86%
          Montgomery County, Ohio 0.73% 4.62% 6.22%
          Ottawa County, Ohio 19.51% 4.30% 6.24%
          Portage County, Ohio 9.87% 5.52% 8.99%
          Sandusky County, Ohio 22.58% 2.71% 4.64%
          Stark County, Ohio 17.17% 0.47% 5.46%
          Trumbull County, Ohio 6.22% 23.00% 22.43%
          Wood County, Ohio 7.99% 4.84% 7.13%

          In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Ohio with 51.7 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 43.6 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Ohio cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 93.3 percent of the time (28 out of 30 elections), more than any other state in the country. In that same time frame, Ohio supported Republican candidates for president more often than Democratic candidates, 60 to 40 percent. Between 2000 and 2016, Ohio voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election.

          Presidential results by legislative district

          The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Ohio. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[3][4]

          In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 39 out of 99 state House districts in Ohio with an average margin of victory of 35.7 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 33 out of 99 state House districts in Ohio with an average margin of victory of 34 points. Clinton won seven districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
          In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 60 out of 99 state House districts in Ohio with an average margin of victory of 17.4 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 66 out of 99 state House districts in Ohio with an average margin of victory of 28.3 points. Trump won seven districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


          See also


          External links

          Footnotes