2018 Ohio elections

The Ohio general elections, 2018, were held on November 6, 2018, throughout Ohio.

Senate
Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown—the only elected Democratic statewide officeholder in Ohio as of July 2017 —won re-election to a third term, defeating Republican U.S. Representative Jim Renacci in the general election.

House of Representatives
All of Ohio's 16 seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2018.

Governor and lieutenant governor
Incumbent Republican governor John Kasich and lieutenant governor Mary Taylor were term-limited and could not run for a third consecutive term.

Attorney general
Incumbent Republican attorney general Mike DeWine was term-limited and could not run for a third consecutive term.

Secretary of state
Incumbent Republican secretary of state Jon Husted was term-limited and could not run for a third consecutive term.

Declared

 * Frank LaRose, state senator

Withdrawn

 * Dorothy Pelanda, state representative

Declared

 * Kathleen Clyde, state representative

General election
Governing magazine projected the race as "leans Republican".

Polling
{| class=wikitable ! Poll source ! Date(s) administered ! Sample size ! Margin of error ! style="width:100px;"|Frank LaRose (R) ! style="width:100px;"|Kathleen Clyde (D) ! Undecided
 * - valign= bottom
 * Baldwin Wallace University
 * align=center| October 19–27, 2018
 * align=center| 1,051
 * align=center| ± 3.8%
 * align=center| 33%
 * align=center| 39%
 * align=center| 21%
 * Change Research (D-Innovation Ohio)
 * align=center| August 31 – September 4, 2018
 * align=center| 822
 * align=center| ± 3.0%
 * align=center| 42%
 * align=center| 40%
 * align=center| 18%
 * Fallon Research
 * align=center| May 21–25, 2018
 * align=center| 800
 * align=center| ± 3.5%
 * align=center| 32%
 * align=center| 31%
 * align=center| 37%
 * Public Policy Polling (D-ODP)
 * align=center| April 25–26, 2018
 * align=center| 770
 * align=center| ± 3.5%
 * align=center| 40%
 * align=center| 43%
 * align=center| 17%
 * align=center| ± 3.5%
 * align=center| 40%
 * align=center| 43%
 * align=center| 17%

Treasurer
Incumbent Republican state treasurer Josh Mandel was term-limited and could not run for a third consecutive term.

Declared

 * Sandra "Sandy" O'Brien, former Ashtabula County Auditor
 * Robert Sprague, state representative

Withdrawn

 * Clarence Mingo, Franklin County Auditor

Declined

 * Keith Faber, state representative and former Ohio Senate President (running for state auditor)

Declared

 * Rob Richardson Jr., former chair of the University of Cincinnati board of trustees and candidate for Mayor of Cincinnati in 2017

Withdrawn

 * Neil Patel, president and chairman of the Central Ohio Chapter of the Federation of Indian Associations

Declined

 * Jeremy Blake, Newark City Councilman (running for state representative)

Polling
{| class=wikitable ! Poll source ! Date(s) administered ! Sample size ! Margin of error ! style="width:100px;"|Robert Sprague (R) ! style="width:100px;"|Rob Richardson (D) ! style="width:100px;"|Paul Curry (G) ! Undecided
 * - valign= bottom
 * Baldwin Wallace University
 * align=center| October 19–27, 2018
 * align=center| 1,051
 * align=center| ± 3.8%
 * align=center| 36%
 * align=center| 38%
 * align=center| –
 * align=center| 22%
 * Change Research (D-Innovation Ohio)
 * align=center| August 31 – September 4, 2018
 * align=center| 822
 * align=center| ± 3.0%
 * align=center| 41%
 * align=center| 38%
 * align=center| —
 * align=center| 21%
 * Fallon Research
 * align=center| May 21–25, 2018
 * align=center| 800
 * align=center| ± 3.5%
 * align=center| 33%
 * align=center| 30%
 * align=center| 5%
 * align=center| 32%
 * align=center| 30%
 * align=center| 5%
 * align=center| 32%

Auditor
Incumbent Republican state auditor Dave Yost was term-limited and could not run for a third consecutive term.

Declared

 * Keith Faber, state representative and former Ohio Senate President

Declined

 * Cliff Rosenberger, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives

Declared

 * Zack Space, former U.S. Representative

Failed to qualify

 * Kelli Prather, occupational therapist, candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016, candidate for Cincinnati City Council in 2017

Polling
{| class=wikitable ! Poll source ! Date(s) administered ! Sample size ! Margin of error ! style="width:100px;"|Keith Faber (R) ! style="width:100px;"|Zack Space (D) ! Undecided
 * - valign= bottom
 * Baldwin Wallace University
 * align=center| October 19–27, 2018
 * align=center| 1,051
 * align=center| ± 3.8%
 * align=center| 32%
 * align=center| 40%
 * align=center| 22%
 * Change Research (D-Innovation Ohio)
 * align=center| August 31 – September 4, 2018
 * align=center| 822
 * align=center| ± 3.0%
 * align=center| 40%
 * align=center| 37%
 * align=center| 23%
 * Fallon Research
 * align=center| May 21–25, 2018
 * align=center| 800
 * align=center| ± 3.5%
 * align=center| 32%
 * align=center| 35%
 * align=center| 33%
 * align=center| 32%
 * align=center| 35%
 * align=center| 33%

Senate
The 17 odd-numbered districts out of 33 seats in the Ohio Senate were up for election in 2018. Before the election, nine of these seats were held by Republicans, seven were held by Democrats, and one was vacant.

House of Representatives
All 99 seats in the Ohio House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. Before the election, 65 of these seats were held by Republicans, 33 were held by Democrats, and one seat was vacant.

Supreme Court
While judicial races in Ohio are technically non-partisan (party affiliations are not listed on the ballot), candidates run in party primaries. Terms are six years, and justices may run for re-election an unlimited number of times before their 70th birthday.

Associate Justice (Term commencing 01/01/2019)
Incumbent Associate Justice Terrence O'Donnell, a Republican, did not seek reelection as he had reached the mandatory retirement age.

Candidates

 * Craig Baldwin, incumbent Judge of the Ohio Court of Appeals for the 5th District

Candidates

 * Michael P. Donnelly, Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas judge

Associate Justice (Term commecning 01/02/2019)
Incumbent Associate Justice Mary DeGenaro, a Republican, sought a full-term after being appointed by Governor John Kasich, following the resignation of Justice William O' Neill, a Democrat.

Candidates

 * Mary DeGenaro, incumbent Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio

Candidates

 * Melody J. Stewart, incumbent Judge of the Ohio Court of Appeals for the 8th District

Court of Appeals
The Ohio District Courts of Appeals consists of 69 judges in 12 districts. Judges serve a 6-year term. Approximately 1/3 of these positions were up for election in 2018.