History suggests that the party not represented in the White House does well in midterm Congressional elections – and this year Ohio’s five executive offices, including governor, are also on the ballot, along with U.S. Senate. It's likely these races will get a lot of national attention.
Republicans control Congress and the White House, and President Trump’s popularity is at a historic low. There are no incumbents running for governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state or treasurer. And the entire Ohio House is on the ballot. Kyle Kondik is from Ohio and is the editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a political newsletter out of the University of Virginia. He says this is a huge test for Democrats in Ohio.
“If Democrats can’t perform well in Ohio in this kind of environment, I think it does lead one to question whether the state’s kind of perpetual swing state status might be sort of going away.”
The newsletter forecasts Ohio as leaning Republican in the governor’s race, and leaning Democratic in the US Senate race.