After Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy released an ad that featured Democratic candidate Amy Acton’s estranged mother attacking Acton’s moral character, Republicans’ responses to the ad were divided, according to the New York Times. The state’s current Republican Governor, Mike DeWine, said he did not support the ad and encouraged Ramaswamy to take it down. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, however, defended the ad. Splitting the state’s Republican voters could hurt Ramaswamy’s chances of winning the governor’s race on Election Day.

Since 2022, Ohio has grown increasingly Republican. Today, nearly four in ten Ohioans identify as Republican (39%), compared with 29% in 2022. The percentage of Ohioans who identify as Democrats decreased by 10 points during this same period, from 32% to 22%. The percentage of Ohioans who identify as independent has also decreased, while the percentage of those who do not identify as Republican, Democratic, or independent doubled, from 8% in 2022 to 16% in 2025.