Cost of living leads the issues Ohio voters named as top concerns before the 2026 midterm elections, according to a survey of 1,200 registered voters conducted Sept. 25-28, 2026 by Better Choices for Democracy, Centerline Research and Strategy and Harris Poll.
Sixty-six percent of those polled cited cost of living, followed by healthcare at 44%, affordable housing at 31% and data centers at 22%. Nicole Kalaf-Hughes, an associate professor of political science at Bowling Green State University, said economic and affordability matters, including fuel prices, are likely to weigh heavily on voters this cycle. Data centers, she added, matter most in communities directly affected by them.
Federal labor data cited in the report show gasoline prices up 34.2% and fuel oil up 74.2% between September 2025 and September 2026, with the all-items index up 3.7%. AAA data put Athens County gasoline at $4.30 a gallon on Oct. 30, above the statewide $4.22 average.
On health coverage, Policy Matters Ohio researcher Madelaine McQueen said roughly 161,000 Ohioans left ACA marketplace plans between February 2025 and February 2026, a 32.4% decline she characterized as the steepest in the country. Average monthly ACA premiums in Athens County rose 74%, from $125 to $218, she said.
COHHIO executive director Amy Rigel linked renewed migration to the Midwest to business climate and living costs, adding pressure to a tight housing market. Damon Krane of United Athens County Tenants said a two-bedroom unit in the county rents for $1,092 a month against an average renter wage of $10.84 an hour, and cited reports finding a gap of nearly 2,500 affordable homes.
On data centers, the Buckeye Institute's Greg R. Lawson said tax incentives helped Ohio rank fifth nationally in facilities, while the Ohio Department of Taxation's tax expenditure report estimated $141.8 million in forgone revenue. Nelsonville has banned such construction and Athens imposed a one-year moratorium; county commissioners opposed a proposed Athens Township project.