Trump Approval Underwater Among Ohio Voters
A new Emerson College Polling survey of Ohio voters finds both statewide elections for Governor and U.S. Senate tightening, with both races falling within the poll’s margin of error. In the open seat for Governor, 46% support Democrat Amy Acton, while 45% support Republican Vivek Ramaswamy; 9% are undecided. In comparison to the August 2025 Emerson College poll of Ohio, Ramaswamy’s support decreased four percentage points, from 49% to 45%, while Acton’s support increased seven points, from 39% to 46%.
“The August Emerson College poll found women voters split between Ramaswamy and Acton, 44% to 42%, and men breaking for Ramaswamy 54% to 36%. Four months later, men still support Ramaswamy by about 20 points, 55% to 35%, but women have shifted toward Acton, breaking for her 56% to 37%,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said.
In the U.S. Senate election, 49% support Republican incumbent Jon Husted and 46% support Democratic former Senator Sherrod Brown, with 5% undecided. Compared to the gubernatorial race, the race for Senate has been more stable since the August Emerson poll; support for Husted decreased one percentage point, and support for Brown increased two points.
“Ohio voters who did not participate in the 2024 election, most of whom are under 30, are more likely to identify as Republicans rather than Democrats,” Kimball noted. “In addition, 31% of voters under 30 align with independents or Democrats, while 38% identify with Republicans, though this group still breaks for Democrats on the ballot by about 12 points. Democrats hold a larger advantage among voters in their 30s than among under 30, further indicating shifting political dynamics within the Ohio electorate.”
Voters were asked if they have a favorable or unfavorable view of the following individuals:
President Donald Trump holds a 46% job approval rating and 48% disapproval. Since August, Trump’s approval decreased three points, from 49% to 46%, and the president’s disapproval increased six points, from 42% to 48%.
Governor Mike DeWine holds a 26% job approval rating and 45% disapproval. DeWine’s approval decreased six points since August, and his disapproval increased five points.
The economy remains the top issue for Ohio voters at 44%, followed by threats to democracy at 13%, healthcare at 11%, housing affordability at 9%, immigration at 8%, and education at 7%.
Fifty-three percent of voters think mass deportations of undocumented immigrants in Ohio are a good thing for the state, while 47% think they are a bad thing for the state. Since August, the share of voters who think it is a good thing has dropped from 57% to 53%, while those who think deportations are a bad thing for the state increased from 43% to 47%.
Ohio voters were asked which political party they trust more to make Ohio more affordable: 43% trust the Republican Party more, 37% trust the Democratic Party more, and 19% trust neither party to make Ohio more affordable.
Methodology
The Emerson College Polling Ohio survey was conducted December 6-8, 2025. The overall sample of Ohio active registered voters, n=850, has a credibility interval, similar to a poll’s margin of error (MOE), of +/- 3.3 percentage points. The data sets were weighted by gender, education, race, age, party registration, and region based on U.S. Census parameters and voter file data.
It is important to remember that subsets based on demographics, such as gender, age, education, and race/ethnicity, carry with them higher credibility intervals, as the sample size is reduced. Survey results should be understood within the poll’s range of scores, and with a confidence interval of 95% a poll will fall outside the range of scores 1 in 20 times.
Data was collected by contacting a voter list of cellphones via MMS-to-web text (lists provided by Aristotle), and an online panel of voters provided by Commonwealth Opinions Panel and PureSpectrum. Panel responses were matched to the Aristotle voter file using respondents’ full name and ZIP code. The survey was offered in English.
All questions asked in this survey with exact wording and order, along with full results, demographics, and cross tabulations can be found below.
