Knickerbocker leads longtime incumbent Mike Turner as Sherrod Brown wins Senate seat and Amy Acton becomes Ohio’s first woman elected governor

By Gery L. Deer

The Jamestown Comet

UPDATED: Wednesday, November 4, 2026 | 6:30 a.m. EST

JAMESTOWN, Ohio — Democrats have won control of both chambers of Congress following Tuesday’s midterm elections, while Ohio voters have elected former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown to return to Washington and former state health director Amy Acton as the state’s next governor.

But one of the most closely watched congressional contests in the state remains undecided Wednesday morning, as Democratic challenger Kristina Knickerbocker holds a narrow lead over longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Turner in Ohio’s 10th Congressional District.

According to unofficial results reported by the Ohio Secretary of State early Wednesday, Knickerbocker received 149,024 votes compared with Turner’s 144,086, a difference of 4,938 votes. Libertarian candidate Thomas McMasters also appeared on the ballot.

Although Decision Desk HQ has projected Knickerbocker as the winner, the Associated Press had not called the race as of early Wednesday morning. WHIO-TV reported at 4:56 a.m. that Knickerbocker continued to lead with approximately 98% of the vote counted.

Turner, who has represented the Dayton area in Congress since 2003, is facing a significant challenge from Knickerbocker, a U.S. Air Force veteran and oncology nurse practitioner who entered the election without Turner’s decades of political experience.

Knickerbocker addressed supporters Tuesday night at Coco’s Bistro in Dayton as election returns showed her leading. Her campaign has claimed victory, but the outcome remains subject to the completion of vote counting and official certification.

The 10th District includes portions of Greene, Montgomery and Butler counties. The outcome will determine who represents much of the Dayton region in the U.S. House beginning in January.

Brown Wins Return to U.S. Senate

Democrat Sherrod Brown defeated Republican incumbent Jon Husted in Ohio’s special U.S. Senate election, according to the Associated Press.

With approximately 95% of votes counted in an early Wednesday reporting snapshot, Brown held approximately 49.6% of the vote compared with Husted’s 45.6%.

Brown previously served in the Senate from 2007 until January 2025, when he left office after losing his 2024 reelection campaign to Republican Bernie Moreno.

Husted was appointed to the Senate in January 2025 by Gov. Mike DeWine to fill the vacancy created when JD Vance became vice president. Brown’s victory gives him the remaining two years of that Senate term, which expires in January 2029.

Acton Elected Ohio Governor

Democrat Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio’s gubernatorial election, becoming the first woman elected governor in the state’s history.

Early Wednesday returns showed Acton receiving approximately 51.9% of the vote compared with 44.8% for Ramaswamy, with about 95% counted.

Acton, a physician and former director of the Ohio Department of Health, became widely known for her leadership during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her election ends 16 consecutive years of Republican control of the Ohio governor’s office. She will succeed Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who was ineligible to seek another consecutive term.

Democrats Win Control of House and Senate

Nationally, the Associated Press has projected that Democrats will control both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate when the new Congress convenes in January 2027.

Democrats flipped at least seven Republican-held Senate seats, including Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina. They also retained competitive Senate seats in Georgia and Michigan.

In the House, Democrats captured more than two dozen Republican-held districts, securing the majority even as several individual races remained uncalled Wednesday morning.

In Ohio, Democratic challengers Brian Poindexter and Don Leonard defeated Republican incumbents Max Miller in the 7th Congressional District and Mike Carey in the 15th District, respectively, according to Associated Press projections.

Those results left Ohio’s congressional delegation with seven seats called for each party and the 10th District still awaiting an Associated Press decision, according to early Wednesday reporting by the Ohio Capital Journal.

What Happens Next in the 10th District?

Although Knickerbocker leads in the reported vote totals, the race is not officially decided. Election officials must complete the counting process, including eligible outstanding ballots, before certifying the results.

A close margin does not automatically trigger a recount. Under Ohio law, an automatic recount in a congressional election is generally required when the margin is no more than one-half of one percent of the total votes cast in that contest.

Based on the early Wednesday figures, Knickerbocker’s lead exceeds that threshold, but the final margin cannot be established until the remaining ballots are counted.

The Jamestown Comet will continue monitoring the 10th Congressional District contest and updating readers as additional results become available.