2026 forecast · Ohio 9th

Marcy Kaptur and Derek Merrin are in a toss up for Ohio's 9th District.

Marcy Kaptur vs Derek Merrin. The model has Kaptur ahead by 0.5 points, winning 52 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Toss upModel D +0.5Polls D +3.0Updated October 22, 2026
Marcy Kaptur
Democrat
50.3%
159,910 projected votes
Derek Merrin
Republican
49.7%
158,220 projected votes
52%Kaptur
48%Merrin
Kaptur slightly favoredEach square is one simulated election night, Kaptur wins about 52 of 100
RatingToss up52% chance for Kaptur
Model marginD +0.5Polls D +3.0
80 percent rangeD +8.6 to R +7.42,000 simulations
Projected votes318,130Kaptur 50.3%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

Ohio districts

15 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Marcy KapturDemocrat · 52% to win
50.3%
Derek MerrinRepublican · 48% to win
49.7%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

318,130 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Marcy Kaptur D159,91050.3%
Derek Merrin R158,22049.7%
Total318,130100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%52% Kaptur48% Merrin16 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The Ohio governor polling average
38%40%42%44%46%48%50%52%MayJunJulAugSepOct49.1Acton44.9Ramaswamy
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
New York Times/SienaOct 1 · 616 LV · Gold16%Acton +4.0
New York Times/SienaSep 30 · 600 LV · Gold16%Acton +4.0
On Point PollingOct 17 · 635 LV · Gold15%Acton +4.8
Fox News/Beacon Research and Shaw & CompanyOct 19 · 1,592 LV · A++14%Acton +2.0
Big Data PollSep 27 · 682 LV · Gold14%Ramaswamy +1.1
Cook Political Report/GS Strategy Group and New River StrategiesOct 13 · 959 LV · NR8.6%Acton +5.0
Every other poll together: 16%

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageD +3.0

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Kaptur +0.5
Chance of winning
Marcy Kaptur52%
Derek Merrin48%
Simulated vote
Marcy Kaptur50.3%
Derek Merrin49.7%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +11.0
FundamentalsD +0.6
With pollsD +0.5
Early vote turnoutNo change
With early voteD +0.5

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in Ohio, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +13R +13Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +11.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesD +0.6With pollsaverage D +3.0D +0.5With early voteturnout so farD +0.5
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.