The 2022 Governor Election in Ohio is set to take place on November 8th, 2022. The current Governor is Mike DeWine. He is running for re-election after winning the race in 2018 by 3.7 points. DeWine is a veteran in Ohio politics representing a part of or the whole state in some capacity from 1983 to 2007 and then from 2011 to the present. He has been part of the US House, Lt. Governor, Senator, and state Attorney General before becoming Governor. The Primaries to decide each party’s nominee will be held on May 3, 2022.
The general election is not expected to be competitive in Ohio as the Republicans have had a comfortable lead over the Democrats in recent elections. However, the primaries are much more interesting and DeWine remains vulnerable to a challenger to his right as he has not been as pro-Trump as the GOP had hoped.
Ohio Governor Race 2022 Polls: Republican Candidates in the primaries
- Mike DeWine, incumbent Governor of Ohio (2019–present)
- Jim Renacci, former U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 16th congressional district (2011–2019) and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018
- Joe Blystone is a Farmer
Ohio Governor Race 2022 Polls: Latest Republican Polls
| Poll | Date | Mike DeWine | Jim Renacci | |
| Fabrizio Lee | Jan 13th | 38% | 46% | |
| Renacci Internal | Jan 13th, 2022 | 38% | 46% | |
| Harris Poll | Jan 4th | 42% | 42% |
Two of the 3 polls show DeWine’s vulnerability: Despite being an incumbent governor he does not cross 40% in two of the three poll.
Jim Renacci benefits from a higher name recognition due to running state wide in 2018 for US Senate against Democrat Sherrod Brown and being seen as more pro-Trump. Trump endorsed him in his 2018 run and could do the same here.
Ohio Governor Race 2022 Polls: Google Search Trends Republicans
| Date | Mike DeWine | Jim Renacci | |
| Feb 4th, 2022 | 89% | 10% | |
| Feb 1st, 2022 | 82% | 18% |
Ohio is an open primary. This search advantage in favor of DeWine suggests that he could still pull it off by attracting sufficient numbers of moderates and democrats
Ohio Governor Race 2022 Polls: Republican Party, Net Social Media Sentiment
| Date | Mike DeWine | Jim Renacci | |
| Feb 4th, 2022 | – | -14.8% | |
| Feb 2nd, 2022 | -13.4 | -2.9% |
B. Democratic Primary
- John Cranley, Mayor of Cincinnati (2013–2022)
- Nan Whaley, Mayor of Dayton (2014–2022)
Ohio Governor Race 2022 Polls: Google Search Trends Republicans
| Date | John Cranley | Nan Whaley | |
| Feb 4th, 2022 | 33% | 66% |
Ohio Governor Race 2022 Polls: General Election Polls
No polls have been conducted in the race since August 2021 and none have tested Renacci against Whaley, which could be the likely general election matchup based on endorsements and primary polling. But, the ratings of prognosticators and even past trends of Ohio indicate that the Republican Party goes in with a huge advantage, especially as they won the state at the presidential level by 8 points in both 2016 and 2020. Republicans have also won the last 3 elections for Governor. New polls will be added here once they are released.
Ohio Governor Race 2022 Polls: Google Search Trends, General Election
| Date | Mike DeWine | Jim Renacci | Nan Whaley (D) | |
| Feb 4th, 2022 | 86% | 9% | 4% | |
| Feb 2nd, 2022 | 78% | 17% | 5% |
Ohio Governor Race 2022 Polls: General Election, Net Social Media Sentiment
| Date | Mike DeWine | Jim Renacci | Nan Whaley (D) | |
| Feb 4th, 2022 | – | 14.8% | 2.3% | |
| Feb 2nd, 2022 | -13.4% | -2.9% | -10.3% |
Ohio Governor Race 2022 Polls: Latest Videos, Feb 4th
Mike DeWine – Fighting and Winning for Ohio
Ohio Governor Race 2022 Polls: Latest News
- 13 to vie for US Senate seat in Ohio, 6 for governor
- DeWine can’t run from energy bailout bribery scandal as dirty laundry keeps piling up
Ohio Governor Race 2022 Polls: Latest Tweets
Originally tweeted by Jim Renacci (@JimRenacci) on February 3, 2022.
I’m proud to have earned the endorsement of Attorney Thomas Renz. As governor, I will fight for medical freedom and our liberties as Ohioans.
Originally tweeted by Nan Whaley (@nanwhaley) on February 3, 2022.
I am honored to receive the support of @MatriotsOhio!
We need to run a different kind of campaign and candidate if we’re going to win in November and make Ohio a place where everyone, regardless of their zip code, has the opportunity to thrive.
What better way to break the status quo and build a stronger future for our state than by electing Ohio’s first woman governor and two former mayors who know how to get the job done?
Ohio Governor Race 2022 Polls: Demographics of Ohio
| Demographic | Proportion | |
| White American (non-Hispanic) | 78.3% | |
| African American | 12.4% | |
| Asian American | 2.34% | |
| Hispanic American | 4% | |
| Multiracial | 2.62% | |
| Others | 0.34% |
Racial Demographics of Ohio as per the ACS
Ohio has rapidly turned right as Democrats have lost votes in their working-class strongholds in North West Ohio, especially in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Both counties swung over 25 points in 2020 from 2012 when Obama won the state thanks to his margins in counties like this. Similar to other states, Democrats have made improvements in educated places – the most educated county in the state, Delaware County, the northern suburbs of Columbus have swung to the left rapidly along with Hamilton County, home to Cincinnati which was unusually conservative for an urban county pre-Trump.
Democrats have to rely on improving margins in the North West and along Lake Erie if they want to have any chance of retaking the governor’s office. White votes remain a large majority and it’s the same case in both party’s primaries. Non-white voters are a pivotal voting bloc for Democrats.
Original source can be found here.
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