Ohio Democrats have made significant gains in 2026 races for governor and U.S. Senate, according to a new poll released Thursday by Emerson College.

Gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, both Democrats, have climbed within the margin of error, with Acton actually leading Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate and ally of President Donald Trump.

The same poll also shows Trump’s disapproval rating climbing by 6 points since August, with nearly half of the active registered voters disapproving of the president.

The poll, conducted Dec. 6-8, showed Acton with a 46 percent-45 percent lead over Ramaswamy, with 9 percent undecided. That’s a 7-point swing for the former Ohio Department of Health director from August, and a 4-point drop for Ramaswamy.

Pollsters say women provide the change.

“The August Emerson College poll found women voters split between Ramaswamy and Acton, 44 percent to 42 percent, and men breaking for Ramaswamy 54 percent to 36 percent. Four months later, men still support Ramaswamy by about 20 points, 55 percent to 35 percent, but women have shifted toward Acton, breaking for her 56 percent to 37 percent,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said.

Respondents showed a 39.5 percent somewhat or very favorable opinion of Ramaswamy, while Acton stood at 35.2 percent.

However, 41.3 percent had a somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of Ramaswamy, while Acton’s unfavorables are at 32.7 percent.

In the Senate race, Republican Sen. Jon Husted gained a point from August, leading Brown 50 percent-44 percent with 5 percent undecided. Brown’s support dropped 2 points from August.

The poll showed 30.3 percent held a very or somewhat favorable opinion of Husted, while 43.2 percent held the same opinion of Brown.

Husted’s unfavorables are at 31.8 percent, and Brown’s are 41.3 percent.

The poll showed Trump’s job disapproval rating at 48 percent, with a 46 percent approval rating, a 3-point drop in approval and a 6-point jump in disapproval since August.

The poll showed Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine with just a 26 percent job approval rating, with 45 percent disapproval.

The poll has a margin of error of +/-3.3 percentage points.