Montgomery, Blue Ash, and Sycamore Township voters will choose candidates in four contested races and weigh three ballot issues when they head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
The Hamilton County Board of Elections' 46-day notice, published Monday, Sept. 14, lists every candidate and issue by precinct. Here's what's on the ballot.
U.S. Senate special election
Republican Jon Husted faces Democrat Sherrod Brown for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant when J.D. Vance became Vice President. Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted to the seat on Jan. 17, 2025. The winner serves the remaining two years of Vance's term, ending Jan. 3, 2029.
Husted, 59, served as Ohio's lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2025 and as secretary of state from 2011 to 2019. Brown served in the U.S. Senate from 2007 to 2025 and lost his 2024 re-election bid to Republican Bernie Moreno. Before the Senate, Brown served in the U.S. House from 1993 to 2007 and as Ohio secretary of state from 1982 to 1990.
Libertarian William B. Redpath and other-party candidate Greg Levy are also on the ballot. As of Sept. 1, Cook Political Report, DDHQ, and Sabato's Crystal Ball all rated the race a toss-up, according to a Ballotpedia video profile. Inside Elections rated it tilt Republican.
U.S. House, 8th District
Republican incumbent Warren Davidson seeks a sixth term against Democrat Vanessa Enoch, who is challenging him for the fifth time. All Montgomery, Blue Ash, and Sycamore Township precincts fall in this district. Davidson won the Hamilton County portion of the district in 2024 with 53.50% to Enoch's 46.50%, according to the official county canvass.
Ohio State House, 28th District
Democratic incumbent Karen Brownlee faces Republican Jill Cole. All Montgomery and Blue Ash precincts and most Sycamore Township precincts (B through N) are in this district. Brownlee won the seat in 2024 with 55.91% over Republican Jenn Giroux's 44.08%.
On June 10, Brownlee announced she had secured $2.91 million in capital budget funding for District 28 projects through Senate Bill 450. That included $350,000 for Summit Park parking lot renovations in Blue Ash and $150,000 for Promenade Park upgrades in Montgomery. "The state-local partnership we have fostered in District 28 is a strong one," Brownlee said in a press release announcing the funding.
Ohio State Senate, 7th District
Republican Zac Haines, a marketing company CEO who won his primary with 77.35% of the vote, faces Democrat Cara Jacob, a physician who ran unopposed in her primary. The same local precincts that vote in the 28th House District vote in this race.
Ballot issues
Three issues will appear on local ballots:
- Issue 3 (statewide): A proposed Ohio constitutional amendment requiring voter identification. All Hamilton County precincts vote on this.
- Issue 8: The Sycamore Community City School District's proposed 6.95-mill additional tax levy for current expenses and permanent improvements. It covers all Montgomery precincts, all Blue Ash precincts and select Sycamore Township precincts.
- Issue 10: A Hamilton County Children's Services tax levy renewal at 5.61 mills for four years. All county precincts vote on this.
Key dates
The deadline to register to vote or update a registration is Oct. 5. Early in-person voting at the Hamilton County Board of Elections, 4700 Smith Rd., Cincinnati, begins Oct. 6 and runs through Nov. 1. Absentee ballot applications are due by 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 27. Under a 2025 Ohio law, mail-in ballots must now arrive by the close of polls on election night to be counted, according to Ballotpedia. Previously, ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within four days were accepted.
Polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
