Press Release

Ohio Could Elect Woman Governor for the First Time

Progress Unlikely for Women in Indiana, Ohio Congressional Delegations

May 6, 2026
Daniel De Simone
760.703.0948

Primary elections were held on Tuesday in Indiana and Ohio. Full results for women candidates in federal and statewide executive races are available on this post on our Election Analysis page; there are no undecided races from yesterday's primaries, so this post reflects the final results from these contests.

Among the most notable results for women:
 

Ohio

  • Amy Acton (D) won the Democratic nomination for governor of Ohio. The open-seat contest is currently rated as “Lean Republican” by Cook Political Report. If successful, Acton would be the first Democratic woman governor of Ohio and the first woman governor of Ohio ever elected to office; the first and only woman governor of Ohio – Nancy Hollister (R) – served briefly as governor from December 31, 1998 to January 11, 1999 via succession due to the resignation of the incumbent governor.
  • No women filed as candidates for the U.S. Senate in Ohio, ensuring that Ohio remains one of 16 states that has never had a woman senator.
  • No Republican women won nominations for U.S. House or statewide elective executive offices in Ohio in 2026.
  • The 9 (9D) women nominees for U.S. House in Ohio include all 4 (4D) incumbent women representatives and 5 (5D) challengers. All incumbents but U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (D) are favored to win in November; Kaptur’s contest is currently rated as a toss up by Cook Political Report. All 5 (5D) women running as challengers are running in districts that currently favor their incumbent opponents.
     

Indiana

  • Women’s U.S. House representation in Indiana is unlikely to change as a result of the 2026 elections. Both (2R) incumbent women representatives are favored to win re-election in November and the other 5 (4D, 1R) women nominees are running as challengers in districts that currently favor their incumbent opponents.
     

For more information, see the full analysis of how women fared in yesterday's contests on our Election Analysis page. Complete context about women in the 2026 elections can be found on CAWP's Election Watch.