Ohio's Rural Voters Could Decide Who Controls the Senate

What happened

The Ohio Senate race is shaping up as one of the fights that could decide control of the entire chamber on Nov. 3. Republican Sen. Jon Husted faces former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, and both parties are treating the state as a must-win. A toss-up governor's race on the same ballot adds to the stakes.

That's a remarkable position for Ohio. A decade ago it was the classic swing state; today it's considered reliably Republican. But the [US midterm elections on Nov 3](/article/us-midterm-elections-2026-explained) are turning on a narrow set of Senate seats, and Ohio is right in the middle of them — with the voters who may tip it living far from the cities.

Rural Ohio backed Donald Trump by 40 points in 2024. Recent polling, though, shows his approval slipping in farm country as high inflation, tariffs, and the war in Iran hit household budgets.