'Scrambled the map': Rick Wilson stunned by 'shock story of 2026'

President Donald J. Trump greets Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist and long-time critic of Donald Trump, has responded to a new poll from Ohio that shows the Democrats leading in two of the major statewide races this fall.

Wilson is one of the co-founders of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project and has for many years been active in Republican politics. Wilson stated on X, “Ohio turning blue is one of the shock stories of 2026...and it scrambles the 2028 map by a lot.”

His remarks came after a Marist Poll had been released which showed former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown leading Republican Sen. Jon Husted 51 percent to 43 percent among Ohio registered voters in the state's U.S. Senate race. According to the survey, independents supported Brown 58 percent to 33 percent.

The Marist Poll also showed Democrat Amy Acton leading Republican Vivek Ramaswamy 50 percent to 44 percent in the race for governor. She had a 57 percent to 32 percent lead among independent voters.

When asked who they thought would win the Senate race, 50 percent named Brown and 47 percent named Husted. As for the governor's race, 53 percent expected Ramaswamy to win and 43% expected Acton to win.

On the congressional generic ballot, the Democrats also had a slight lead, 50 percent to 47 percent. According to the Marist Poll, 41 percent of Ohio voters said that their vote for Congress was mainly a vote against Trump, while 25 percent said it was a vote for him.

In recent presidential elections, Ohio has tended towards the Republican Party; in 2024 Trump won the state by around 11 percentage points. The fact that Trump has this weekend scheduled a campaign trip to Vandalia in support of Husted comes at a time when Republicans are defending a Senate seat which could influence control of the chamber.

According to the Marist survey, Trump's job approval rating among Ohio registered voters was 42 percent, the remainder disapproving, with half of them strongly disapproving his performance as compared to 27 percent who strongly approved. Among independents, 64 percent disapproved and 34 percent approved.

For personal finances, 41 percent of registered voters stated that their position had gotten worse over the last year, 37 percent said it had been roughly the same, and 19 percent said their financial situation had improved.

Brown is attempting to get back into the Senate following his loss of the seat to the Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024. Husted, who had previously been Ohio's lieutenant governor, was appointed to the Senate position left vacant by JD Vance when Vance became vice president. The special election will decide who serves for the rest of the term.

The Marist Poll conducted a survey between September 24 and September 27 by phone, text, and online among 1,298 registered voters in Ohio. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

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