Ohio Has Its Winners: Acton Takes the Governor's Office, Brown Returns to the Senate
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USAMorning-after update. The two Ohio races that were still open at our 10:30 p.m. cut have now been decided: the Associated Press (AP) has called the governor's race for Democrat Amy Acton and the U.S. Senate special election for Democrat Sherrod Brown, completing a Democratic sweep of the state's top contests. All results remain unofficial until certified.
Governor: Acton wins, AP calls it. With 98.79% of precincts reporting (8,727 of 8,834), Acton held 2,404,178 votes to Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's 2,039,730 — a margin of more than 360,000 votes — according to the AP count, which now lists the race as called. Acton, a physician who served as Ohio's health director at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, becomes the first woman elected governor of Ohio and the first Democrat to win the office in 20 years. Ramaswamy conceded on election night and told supporters he had congratulated Acton. She is set to take office on January 11, 2027, succeeding Republican Mike DeWine, who was term-limited — and who had appointed her health director in 2019.
U.S. Senate: Brown returns, AP calls it. In the special election for the seat left vacant by J.D. Vance, Brown defeated Republican Sen. Jon Husted 2,301,042 votes to 2,077,748, with 98.79% of precincts reporting, according to the AP. The win flips the seat to the Democrats and sends Brown back to the Senate two years after he lost re-election in 2024, at the end of one of the nation's most expensive Senate races. Husted, a former lieutenant governor, had held the seat since DeWine appointed him in January 2025. Brown will serve the remaining two years of the term Vance won in 2022, which runs through January 2029.
Already decided: Issue 3. As reported in our election-night coverage, the AP called Ohio's Issue 3 approved on Tuesday night, with “yes” at 66.0%. The measure locks the state's photo-ID voting requirement — in place since 2023 — into the Ohio Constitution, meaning any future change will need voters' approval.
The national picture: the Senate flips — and the House follows. The AP has declared that Democrats won enough seats to retake control of the U.S. Senate, with Ohio's flipped seat among the decisive pickups. The U.S. House followed overnight: NBC News and CBS News projected a Democratic majority during the night, and in the early hours of Wednesday — at about 1:28 a.m. ET — the Associated Press announced that Democrats had won the House as well, reaching the 218 seats needed for a majority (the decisive call: Democrat Johnny Garcia in Texas's 35th District, at 1:23 a.m. ET).
What remains. Counties still have provisional and other late ballots to process, and every result on the ballot — including a handful of down-ballot races still being counted — stays unofficial until the county canvass and state certification. This story reflects AP calls as of Wednesday morning, November 4.
Sources: Associated Press, 2026 election results (Ohio governor: “Called,” 98.79% of precincts reporting, Acton 2,404,178 / Ramaswamy 2,039,730; Ohio U.S. Senate special election: “Called,” 98.79% of precincts, Brown 2,301,042 / Husted 2,077,748; Issue 3: “Called,” Yes 66.0%); Associated Press via Ironton Tribune, “Brown wins U.S. Senate in Ohio, flipping seat to Dems,” November 3–4, 2026 (AP call; one of the nation's most expensive races); The Columbus Dispatch, “Acton wins Ohio governor's race, Brown takes Senate seat,” election-night live coverage, November 3–4, 2026, and “Big night for Democrats in Ohio,” November 4, 2026 (Ramaswamy's concession); TMJ4 / Scripps News, “Amy Acton defeats Vivek Ramaswamy, becomes Ohio's first female governor” (AP race call; first Democrat to win the office in 20 years; DeWine appointed Acton health director in 2019); Reuters, “Democrat Sherrod Brown wins back US Senate seat in Ohio,” November 4, 2026 (special election for the remainder of Vance's term, through January 3, 2029; Husted appointed January 2025); Associated Press reporting on Senate control, carried by PBS NewsHour and Morningstar, November 4, 2026 (AP: Democrats won enough seats to take the Senate); NBC News and CBS News projections of a Democratic House majority — network projections, NOT an AP call. Vote margins computed from AP counts. Results are unofficial until certified.
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