Why is Ohio a key battleground in the 2026 US midterm elections?

BBC State Department correspondent Tom Bateman found thousands of people queuing for early voting at the Franklin County board of elections, with officials saying in-person early turnout was well above four years earlier and closer to presidential-year levels. Republicans hold both Ohio Senate seats and the governorship, but Democrats hope to win J.D. Vance's former Senate seat and the governor's race between Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy.

• The governor's race was overshadowed by a Republican attack ad featuring Acton's mother calling her daughter a liar, which some Republicans shunned.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Global News Podcast (2026-11-02). Read the whole episode summary →

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