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Our verdict

LiberalMind endorses Robert Sprague

Election Day is November 3. All four of Ohio's down-ballot statewide seats are open, every incumbent term-limited — Treasurer Robert Sprague runs for secretary of state, the office that will oversee the 2028 presidential election in Ohio. State Representative Allison Russo, a former House Minority Leader, is the Democrat, and Libertarian Tom Pruss is on the ballot with $0 raised. The competitiveness evidence conflicts, and we print it side by side, never averaged. LiberalMind endorses Robert Sprague. Read the research, and see why.

How Ohio got here

The primaries were held May 5, 2026, and the results are certified (Ballotpedia, Secretary of State-certified results). Sprague (R) won his primary with 70.2% (543,551 votes) over Marcell Strbich, 29.8% (230,584). Russo (D) won hers with 67.4% (487,313) over oncologist Bryan Hambley, 32.6% (235,668). Pruss (L) won the Libertarian primary unopposed and appears on every general roster located.

The competitiveness conflict, printed side by side and never averaged: Change Research memo, October 6, 2026 — Sprague 39%, Russo 38%, Pruss 6%, undecided 16% — "The Ohio Secretary of State race is a tossup." Change Research is a Democratic-aligned firm and the memo is a campaign-adjacent release; we label it as such. The memo itself notes 54–59% of voters had never heard of either major candidate, and that Russo led 44–40 among voters rating their motivation 10/10. Beside it: Sabato's Crystal Ball, September 9, 2026 (via Election Tracker), rated this race Leans Republican, with Michigan and Indiana as the Toss-Ups among secretary of state races nationally. An October poll from a Democratic-aligned firm says tied; a September rating says Leans Republican. Both stand as printed.

The money (Transparency USA, accessed October 2026): Sprague $2,673,169.15 in contributions, $3,115,241.40 in expenditures; Russo $1,332,106.50 in contributions, $1,255,140.75 in expenditures; Pruss $0 contributions, $0 expenditures. Sprague also carried $2.1 million cash on hand when he entered the race in February 2025 (The American Star News) — a dated figure, printed with its date.

On election administration, the substantive divide is documented: Sprague embraces the new Republican-backed voter laws (citizenship proof to register; a narrow photo-ID list) as "common-sense policies to secure elections" (Signal Ohio). Russo opposed the voter-ID law changes and characterizes the new laws as hyping "the extraordinarily rare problem of voter fraud," saying they will disenfranchise voters (Signal Ohio). Those are the two cases, in the candidates' own framing.

Robert Sprague (Republican) — the proven treasurer

Background and service: Treasurer of State since 2019, term-limited there; before that, eight years in the Ohio House and service as Findlay city auditor and treasurer (Columbus Dispatch). As Treasurer he created savings programs for first-home buyers and prospective adoptive parents. He considered a run for governor and abandoned it as Republicans consolidated behind Vivek Ramaswamy.

Record and case: His case, in his words: "if you're going to hold elections with integrity, you need good leaders to run those elections… My goal… is to run fair, transparent, secure elections" (Dispatch). He embraces the new voter laws as "common-sense policies to secure elections" (Signal Ohio).

Pros: Proven in a statewide executive office for two terms, with earlier service as a city auditor and treasurer — the administrative profile this office runs on. He won his primary decisively, leads both money compilations, and his election-integrity position is stated plainly and owned, not softened.

Cons: The October Change Research memo — labeled above for what it is — has him at 39% in a state Republicans currently sweep statewide, with most voters not yet knowing either candidate. Name recognition, not record, is his exposure.

The flaw, plainly: None proven in service on this record. A campaign-adjacent poll showing a close race is competitiveness evidence, not a flaw in office.

Allison Russo (Democratic) — a proven legislative leader

Background and service: Ohio House member finishing her eighth year, including more than three years as House Minority Leader (Columbus Dispatch). Outside office she is a research director at a healthcare-policy consulting firm.

Record: She opposed the voter-ID law changes and the amendment to make constitutional amendments harder. She served on the Ohio Redistricting Commission, protesting Republican-drawn maps while backing the compromise state-legislative map in place through 2030. Her case, in her words: "we need a secretary of state who's going to be an advocate for all voters… committed to running fair, free and secure elections" (Dispatch). Signal Ohio reports she characterizes the new voter laws as hyping "the extraordinarily rare problem of voter fraud" and says they will disenfranchise voters.

The Manchin-test fact, stated plainly: No in-service break by Russo with her party on Constitution, free-market, or freedom values was located in this research. Her documented positions — against the voter-ID changes, against the amendments amendment, against the maps — are her party's positions, held as its former House leader.

Pros: A real, senior legislative record: eight years in the House and more than three leading its Democratic caucus is proven service, and she won her primary with two-thirds of the vote. The Change Research memo, for all its caveats, shows a race within her reach among the most motivated voters.

Cons: Her election-administration program is opposition to the integrity laws now on Ohio's books, framed in her party's terms. She trails in money roughly two-to-one. No Manchin-test break is sourced.

The flaw, plainly: No proven personal flaw in service was located — and no proven exception case either. Russo is priced as an enabler, not an extremist: a reliable party-line Democrat in leadership, which is the standing reason the exception is not earned.

The minor candidates, briefly

Tom Pruss (Libertarian): Small-business owner who ran for Congress in OH-09 in 2024 and lost; in that race he took more than 15,000 votes in a district Marcy Kaptur won narrowly, "leading some to label Pruss a spoiler" (Columbus Dispatch). Signal Ohio reports he "has not mounted a campaign to make himself competitive." His Transparency USA line shows $0 raised and $0 spent. He is on the ballot; he is not, on this record, running a competitive campaign. A standing check found no pedophile-association material meeting the proven standard for any candidate in this race — absence noted, nothing implied.

OUR CALL

LiberalMind endorses Robert Sprague.

Sprague is proven in statewide executive office, owns the election-integrity laws he would administer, and states his standard — fair, transparent, secure elections — in plain terms. Russo is a proven legislator whose program is her party's opposition to those laws, with no sourced break from her party on our values to inspect. The poll-versus-rating conflict is printed in full above; it describes a contest, not a doctrine. Endorse the proven in-service conservative.

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

Winner: Allison Russo (Democratic) — called by the Associated Press. This result was appended on November 4, 2026 (results wave 1); the original article above is unchanged, exactly as published before Election Day.

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

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