Poll: Amy Acton leads Vivek Ramaswamy by 10 points in Ohio governor's race, Ramaswamy struggling with his own party [View all]

A new poll of likely November 2026 Ohio voters shows Democrat Amy Acton leading Republican Vivek Ramaswamy by 10 percentage points in the race for governor — a striking reversal from just six months ago, when Ramaswamy held a double-digit lead of his own.

The survey, conducted by EMC Research from Feb. 10 to Feb. 22, found Acton leading 53% to 43% among 1,343 likely November 2026 voters, with a margin of error of ±2.7 percentage points. Newsweek was among the first outlets to report on the results.

The result is the latest indicator of a race that has moved sharply in Acton’s direction. In August 2025, an Emerson College poll had Ramaswamy up by 10 points — 49% to Acton’s 39%. By December, that same pollster found the race statistically tied, with Acton at 46% and Ramaswamy at 45%. The new February numbers represent an additional lurch in Acton’s favor, driven in part by what analysts and polling data suggest are several compounding vulnerabilities for the Republican front-runner.

Ramaswamy struggling with his own party
Perhaps the most telling number in the new poll is among Republican voters: Ramaswamy is drawing only 65% support from his own base. Acton, by contrast, has consolidated 82% of Democratic voters. Independent voters are breaking 51%-46% for the Democrat.

That weak Republican number tracks with what political observers have noted throughout the campaign. Despite holding the endorsement of President Donald Trump and the Ohio Republican Party — which made an unusually early endorsement of Ramaswamy last spring — the candidate has faced persistent skepticism within GOP ranks.

https://tiffinohio.net/posts/poll-amy-acton-leads-vivek-ramaswamy-by-10-in-ohio-governor-s-race/