A Political Earthquake in the Buckeye State: Ohio’s Democratic Shift

Ohio’s political landscape underwent a notable shift following the midterm election results. Voters delivered key wins for Democrats across executive, judicial, and legislative contests, altering the dynamic in the Statehouse and reshaping federal representation.

Statewide Victories & Legislative 

Realignment ​In the gubernatorial contest, Democrat Dr. Amy Acton and running mate David Pepper defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. ​In the U.S. Senate special election, former Senator Sherrod Brown won a return to Washington by defeating Republican appointee Jon Husted. 

Meanwhile, statewide executive and judicial offices saw significant outcomes: 

​Attorney General: Democrat John Kulewicz defeated incumbent Republican Keith Faber. 

​Secretary of State: Democrat Allison Russo defeated Republican Robert Sprague. ​

Treasurer of State: Democrat Seth Walsh won against Republican Jay Edwards. ​

Auditor of State: Republican Frank LaRose won the Auditor of State race against Democrat Annette Blackwell. ​

Ohio Supreme Court: Judge Marilyn Zayas defeated Republican incumbent Dan Hawkins, while Justice Jennifer Brunner secured re-election against challenger Colleen O'Donnell. 

​Statehouse Supermajority Broken: Democrats gained enough legislative seats to break the Republican supermajority in the Ohio General Assembly while Republicans retained a general majority. ​

Ballot Measures: Ohio voters approved Issue 3, enshrining constitutional photo voter identification requirements into the state constitution. ​

The Legal Frontier: Ballot Access and Brown v. Yost ​

Beyond candidate races, grassroots democratic rights remain at the forefront of Ohio governance. In Brown v. Yost (Case No. 2:24-cv-01401), grassroots petitioners challenged R.C. § 3519.01(A)—the state law granting the Attorney General discretionary authority to reject initiative petition summaries under a "fair and truthful" standard. ​

Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham granted a preliminary injunction in March 2025, holding that the Attorney General's unreviewable review process likely violated petitioners' First Amendment rights by exerting editorial control over petition language. The U.S. Supreme Court subsequently allowed the injunction to remain in effect. ​

Will Judge Graham Grant a Permanent Injunction? ​

Because Judge Graham already determined that § 3519.01(A) imposes an unconstitutional burden on speech by conferring subjective editorial discretion upon the state, there is a strong judicial framework for the federal court to convert the preliminary injunction into a Permanent Injunction. Doing so would permanently restrain the state from using summary rejections as an administrative bottleneck against citizen-led ballot measures. ​

Will the New Attorney General Appeal? ​

With Democrat John Kulewicz taking office as Attorney General, the state's posture in Brown v. Yost faces a pivotal transition: ​

Declining to Appeal: Attorney General Kulewicz has full authority to accept a federal court ruling granting a permanent injunction and decline further appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. ​

Settlement or Consent Order: The incoming administration could elect to settle or establish objective guidelines that respect voters' constitutional speech rights. 

​Institutional Defense: While the office retains the mandate to defend state statutes passed by the legislature, a new administration may re-evaluate whether continuing to defend broad executive discretion over citizen speech serves the public interest.

Miss Cynthia Brown is the founder of the Heartbeat Movement Inc., and is the Committee Chair for Protecting Ohioans Constitutional Rights and the The Ohio Coalition for Police Accountability and Transparency.