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Endorses Nowak

The race

One state Senate seat is at stake in Ohio's Senate District 11, for a four-year term. The incumbent, Paula Hicks-Hudson (Democratic), is on the general-election ballot. The district's 2024 presidential baseline was D+21.0 (Wikipedia results summary). The confirmed general-election roster, from the Ohio General Election Guide - November 3, 2026 (Governmental Policy Group / RH Resources, updated September 21, 2026), is: Paula Hicks-Hudson (Democratic); James Nowak (Republican); Kenneth Sharp (Libertarian).

Guide marks Hicks-Hudson with * = incumbent. The guide's Democrat/Republican columns do not carry third-party nominees; Libertarian nominee Kenneth Sharp is added from Wikipedia's District 11 section (Libertarian primary, SOS canvass).

James Nowak is an attorney (Wikipedia).

The candidates, claim by claim

Paula Hicks-Hudson (D), incumbent. Paula Hicks-Hudson is the Democratic incumbent on the guide's general-election list.

Pros: A sitting incumbent whose constituents know the record. Cons: No documented break with the Democratic Party toward this publication's values was located in the compiled record — no Manchin-test break. In the Senate, a Democratic organizing vote is heavy: it carries chamber control and the judicial pipeline with it. The flaw, plainly: Enabler class, not extremist — a reliable party-line vote, which is the standing reason the exception for a Democrat is not earned here. No extremist classification is made: no documented DSA membership, self-described democratic-socialist identification, or authored socialist program was located for this candidate.

James Nowak (R), nominee. James Nowak is the Republican nominee on the guide's general-election list.

Pros: The Republican nominee in a race against a party-line Democrat; aligned with the values this publication exists to advance. Cons: No proven flaw meeting this publication's standard was located in the compiled record; where the nominee has not previously served in state office, the record is thin by definition — that is unproven, not a demerit. The flaw, plainly: None proven was located in the compiled record.

Kenneth Sharp (L), nominee. Kenneth Sharp is the Libertarian nominee in the compiled record (Wikipedia's district record, compiling the Ohio Secretary of State primary canvass; the guide's columns carry only Democrats and Republicans).

Pros: A third option printed on this ballot. Cons: No record was located that supports an endorsement from this publication, and the Libertarian nominee is not the in-tent candidate in this race. The flaw, plainly: None proven was located in the compiled record — and no basis for an endorsement was located either.

OUR CALL

We endorse James Nowak (R) — as unproven, and on watch. No proven flaw was located in the Republican nominee's compiled record, and the nominee has not previously served in state office, so the endorsement carries the unproven form: support, with the record to be watched. The Democratic nominee is a party-line vote with no Manchin-test break located — and in the Senate, that organizing vote is the heaviest one on this ballot.

For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.

Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Sources

Election result — November 4, 2026

Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.

AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.

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