Ohio Union Household Survey Results
RE: Ohio Union Household Survey Results
From: Coalition to Protect American Workers (CPAW)
Survey Conducted: March 9-11, 2026
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
New polling of Ohio union household members confirms what our Michigan data first revealed: this is not a partisan fight, it's a fairness fight. And in a state like Ohio, where union membership runs deep and electoral margins are everything, these findings lay out a clear roadmap. Union household voters in Ohio draw a sharp distinction between unions that deliver for workers and union leadership that games the system for itself.
The bottom line: Ohio union households are persuadable, and support for a labor reform agenda is the terrain on which that persuasion happens.
KEY FINDINGS: UNION HOUSEHOLD VOTERS SUPPORT CANDIDATES WHO BACK LABOR REFORM
Voters are proud of the American labor system and they reject the tactics that undermine it.
The Ohio data reveals the same foundational paradox that our Michigan polling uncovered. Union household members are confident in the strength of the American labor system — 83% say American workers have more freedoms than workers anywhere else in the world, and a commanding 81% believe America empowers workers to form unions, negotiate with employers, and take action to improve working conditions. These are not disaffected voters. They believe in the system.
And precisely because they believe in it, they oppose the tactics that corrupt it. A decisive 60% of Ohio union households want Congress to overturn policies that allow union leaders to pressure workers into voting without a secret ballot.
Similarly, 61% want to overturn the ability of union bosses to stall scheduled elections if they know they are about to lose. This result is consistent across ideological lines - 64% of Moderates, 56% of Very Conservatives, and 53% of Very Liberals all agree: election-stalling is indefensible.
Voters draw a hard line at manipulation, coercion, and procedural gamesmanship.
DEMOCRATS AND INDEPENDENTS SUPPORT REFORMS
The CPAW reform agenda has genuine bipartisan appeal in Ohio, arguably even stronger than what we saw in Michigan. On the question of overturning the ability of union leaders to pressure workers into voting without a secret ballot, 60% of Democrats support overturning this provision. On election-stalling, 58% of Democrats and 61% of Republicans agree it should go.
The cross-partisan picture is equally striking on the broader question of partisan influence in labor policy: 73% of Democrats, 80% of Republicans, and 55% of Independents say labor policy should be free of partisan influence. Union households in Ohio are telling us in plain terms that they want their labor system run on fairness, not politics.
OHIO RACES ARE COMPETITIVE AND MOVEABLE
The 2026 Ohio Senate race between Sherrod Brown and Jon Husted is a battleground, and our union household data show it: Husted leads Brown 48% to 42% among union households, a striking finding in a constituency that has historically been reliable Democratic territory. The gubernatorial race tells the same story: Vivek Ramaswamy leads Amy Acton 48% to 41% among union households.
These numbers reflect a fundamental realignment underway in Ohio. Union household voters gave Trump 56% of their 2024 vote, and he maintains a +9 net approval in this sample today. Republicans lead the generic congressional ballot 51% to 38% among union households. Ohio is not leaning, it's moving.
On the pro-union congressional candidate question, 45% of Ohio union households say they would be more likely to support a candidate who backs labor policies that give more power to union leaders, but a critical 39% say less likely, and 16% are genuinely unsure. That unsure 16% is the moveable middle that decides close races, and it is persuadable.
Our data suggest that candidates who speak directly to Ohio union households about leadership overreach, about the right to a secret ballot, about fair elections, about keeping politics out of labor policy, can carve into a constituency the left has taken for granted and the right has written off.
CONCLUSION: VOTES ARE UP FOR GRABS
Ohio's union households have sent an unmistakable signal. They are not looking for candidates who will rubber-stamp whatever their union leadership demands. They are looking for candidates who will stand up for the principles that make the American labor system worth defending in the first place: fair elections, protected ballots, and a workplace free from coercion.
Ohio is already moving, and the CPAW reform agenda is perfectly positioned to capitalize on it.
There is a lane here. It runs directly through the kitchen tables of union families who want their voice back. Candidates willing to make that case plainly, forcefully, and without apology will find a ready audience in Ohio. The reform message does not ask these voters to abandon their unions. It asks them to demand better from the people who run them.
METHODOLOGY
A survey of N = 500 Union Household Members in Ohio, with +/- 4.4% MoE, conducted between March 9 – 11, 2026.