By Ben Meiselas
In recent months, I have spent countless hours reporting on the political realignment unfolding in Ohio. The shift is now impossible to ignore. From rural counties once considered the backbone of Trump’s coalition to suburban regions long governed by Republicans, voters are turning away from Donald Trump and the MAGA movement in numbers I have not seen before. That reality came into sharp focus in my interview with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton, whose rise in the 2026 race reflects something deeper than polling. It reflects a statewide hunger for sane, competent, and compassionate leadership.
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Back to Ohio, where the data speaks for itself. Trump’s approval rating in Ohio has collapsed to around 40 percent, with disapproval rising above 51 percent. Governor Mike DeWine is at an almost unfathomable 32 percent approval. These are not normal political fluctuations. They are warnings. Ohioans are rejecting a decade of MAGA governance that has weakened their economy, gutted their health care system, and destabilized their communities.
Footage from protests in southeastern Ohio, a region historically deep red and overwhelmingly pro Trump, shows residents shouting “SAVE OUR COUNTRY!!!” in defiance of Trump’s regime. When people in areas once considered MAGA strongholds are openly questioning whether Ohio might finally turn blue, it is clear that the ground is shifting.
That shift is also visible in the 2026 governor’s race. Dr. Amy Acton is surging. In one Bowling Green poll, she leads MAGA candidate Vivek Ramaswamy among independents by an astonishing 19 points. Her net favorability statewide stands at plus 14, compared with Ramaswamy’s plus 1. A Hart poll shows her narrowly ahead in a head to head matchup, suggesting that if the election were held today, she would likely become the next governor of Ohio. As Dr. Acton told me, “We’re beating him quite a bit amongst independents… and we’re seeing a lot of Republicans crossing over as well.”
That crossover support is happening for a reason.
Dr. Acton brings something Ohio has not seen from its statewide leadership in many years: empathy rooted in personal experience, combined with decades of public service. She grew up in poverty in Youngstown, faced hunger and homelessness, and relied on public schools and community support to survive. “I know what it is like to be hungry,” she told me. “I know what it is like to not have housing and live in a tent in the middle of winter.” Her understanding of affordability challenges is not theoretical. It is lived experience.
Her opponent, Ramaswamy, has implied Ohioans, and Americans at large, struggle because they are “lazy” or “mediocre.” Dr. Acton countered that with clear and grounded honesty: “That is not the Ohioans I know or see. I think he’s completely out of touch.”
Her campaign focuses on the issues Ohioans consistently raise: the cost of groceries and gas, the decline of rural hospitals, the lack of affordable housing and child care, stagnating wages, and the damage caused by Trump’s trade war to agriculture, manufacturing, and construction. As she put it, “People are longing for public servants again, who solve problems instead of make problems.”
Meanwhile, Ohioans remember exactly what Trump and MAGA policies produced: cuts to Medicaid, threats to SNAP benefits, refusal to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, and policies that have made health care, farming, and education harder and more expensive. While MAGA leaders insist everyone is “living the golden age,” families across Ohio know that is simply not true.
Perhaps most importantly, Dr. Acton listens. That quality is too rare in today’s politics. She told me that crowds at her events include people who have “never seen each other show up before,” crossing party lines because they want leaders who hear them instead of imposing rigid ideology. Her humility, combined with her medical background, has created a message that resonates across political boundaries.
“I believe we’re going to flip this state,” she said. For the first time in more than a decade, that feels within reach. Polling from teachers, independents, and even traditionally conservative constituencies all points in the same direction. Ohio is ready for change.
What is happening in Ohio is not just a political contest. It is a rejection of chaos, corruption, and cruelty, and an embrace of competence, empathy, and problem solving. Dr. Amy Acton represents that shift.
But as we know, polling is only a snapshot of an electorate at a single moment in time. The future is not predetermined. It will be up to all of us to be the real changemakers. That is why it is so important that we keep telling the truth. That is why we have to continue fighting for our democracy.
We hold the power to rebuild our institutions so they work for all of us, strengthen our shared values, and set our nation on a trajectory where competence, compassion, and integrity once again define public service.
I hope you enjoy my interview with Dr. Acton. And please, if you’re from Ohio, comment below. I would love to hear your thoughts and get your firsthand perspective on what’s happening on the ground.
