Can Trump Carry Ohio Republicans? Panel Debate

For the second time in 10 days, President Donald Trump will hold an Ohio rally to energize Ohio Republicans to vote for Jon Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy. The president was in the Dayton area last week and he’ll be in the Youngstown area on Monday. Aligning with the president has its reward. He remains very popular with many Ohio Republicans who Husted and Ramaswamy need to turn out and vote. But among all Ohioans the president is losing ground. A New York Times Siena poll of likely voters shows only 38% of those surveyed approve of the president’s job performance, while 59% disapprove. To look at whether Trump can carry Republicans or weigh them down, we turn to this week’s panel. Mike Thompson, host of Columbus on the Record and the Snollygoster podcast Maria Bruno, director of the group Ohioans Against Extremism Jo Ingles, reporter for Ohio Public Radio Mark Weaver, Republican strategist We’ll also look at the latest in the race for U.S. Senate in Ohio. The ads for the race are non stop. The Sen. Jon Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown campaigns and their supporting PACs continue to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into this race. As for whether that gargantuan investment is paying off, who knows. A few polls out this week show Brown with a slight lead. A RealClear polling average of polls shows Brown with a three- point lead over Jon Husted, which means the race remains a tossup at this point. The New York Times says the Ohio governor’s race could be the ugliest in the country. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s supporting PACs portray Democrat Dr. Amy Acton as unhinged, and someone who has abused alcohol and drugs. Amy Acton’s supporters’ ads call Vivek Ramaswamy a conman who scammed a man whose wife suffered from Alzheimer’s. Fact checkers have called the ads exagerated and misleading. Ramaswamy and his supporters are running a lot more of the ads than Acton is, but the race remains tight. The RealClear polling average of polls has Acton with a four point lead, 48% to 44% among mostly likely voters. Finally, look at the slow start to mail in ballot applications and other early voting trends. Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:17 -Trump in Ohio – Coattails or Anchor? 07:12 - U.S. Senate Remains Tight 12:06 - Ugly Race for Ohio Governor 18:50 - Early Voting Begins 24:01 - Off The Record comments Support WOSU We can't do this without your support! Help keep WOSU Public Media strong by donating here: https://wosu.pm/WOSU-Support Connect With WOSU News Subscribe to the WOSU News YouTube channel:    / @wosunews   Listen to the Snollygoster podcast:    • Snollygoster   Subscribe to our WOSU News Daily newsletter at https://www.wosu.org/newsletters Follow us on Facebook:   / wosupublicmedia   Follow us on Instagram:   / wosupubmedia   Follow us on Reddit:   / wosupublicmedia   Follow us on NextDoor: https://nextdoor.com/page/wosu-public... Follow us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/@wosupublicm... Visit our website: https://www.wosu.org/news Thumbnail Image​ Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, right, shakes the hand of President Donald Trump after speaking during an event at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein, AP