As Ohio voters begin casting ballots in the November elections, the top of the ticket is likely also top of mind.
But every two years, every one of the 99 seats in the Ohio House and half of the seats in the Ohio Senate, or 17 this year, go before voters as well.
Many of the districts situated in Ohio’s swaths of urban neighborhoods and rural communities are solid red or blue, which is why May partisan primaries sometimes determine the outcome. But strategists have said some districts could switch their color this fall.
“Primarily, the suburban House districts are where the battlegrounds are,” said Tim Ross, political director for Ohio’s chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a national conservative group.
If Nov. 3 really is a good night for Democrats, they believe they could gain one to three seats in the Senate and half a dozen in the House.
Spencer Dirrig, who works for the progressive group the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund, said the goal is to chip away at the supermajorities Republicans hold in both chambers.
“Even though we have some rather gerrymandered districts across the state of Ohio, we have a real opportunity,” Dirrig said.
That includes some targeted House districts where there is no incumbent, often because of term limits. Among those are three in northeast Ohio—House District 31 in Summit County, House District 35, which has some of Summit, Geauga and Portage counties and House District 52 in nearby Lorain County.
In 2024, according to an Ohio Manufacturers’ Association analysis, President Donald Trump had a very small edge in each of those districts. But some Ohioans are souring on Trump.
Regardless of strong headwinds for Democrats, a candidate in a district could run behind or ahead of national trends, Ross said in an interview.
“The thing about Statehouse races is that none of these things are run in a vacuum, so the candidates matter, the type of campaigns they run matter,” he said.
That’s why he feels good about the House GOP caucus defending incumbents in several other targeted districts.
In southern Cuyahoga County, for House District 17, Rep. Mike Dovilla (R-Berea) will face Democratic councilwoman and nurse Megan Coy.
Closer to Columbus, southern Delaware County has been shifting left for years. House District 60 is held by Rep. Brian Lorenz (R-Powell), who faces Democrat and veteran Shelby Kimball.
Near Dayton, House District 36 will feature a rematch between Rep. Andrea White (R-Kettering) and Democratic former teacher Rose Lounsbury, who lost by just 5% in 2024.
For Democrats, the goal in the House is to strengthen the governor’s ability to veto, Dirrig said.
“Even if we elect Amy Acton in November, but we fail to end the supermajority,” he said, “that leaves a great, great, great amount of power sitting solely in the hands of the Republican supermajority, because they won't necessarily have to come to the table and negotiate.”
There are fewer races, and fewer close races, over in the Ohio Senate. But one to watch is again in northeast Ohio for Senate District 27. Incumbent Sen. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) is at the end of her term, so Rep. Steve Demetriou (R-Bainbridge Twp.) will face Democrat and educator Mike Roberto.
