Voters in the US state of Ohio are set to go to the polls in the state’s primaries, where they will pick candidates for several key positions in the upcoming midterm elections in November.

The outcomes of several races in the Midwestern state could have important implications for the crucial midterms, widely seen as a referendum on United States President Donald Trump’s second term and as a vote that will decide which party controls Congress for the remainder of his time in office.

When does voting take place, which races are being watched, and who are some of the main candidates? We answer those questions and more in this brief explainer.

When is the Ohio primary?

The Ohio primary will take place on Tuesday, May 5, 2026.

When do polls open and close?

Polls will open on Election Day at 6:30am local time (10:30 GMT) and close at 7:30pm (23:30 GMT).

What’s on the ballot?

Voters will have the chance to choose candidates in primaries for races for the US Senate, US House, governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, state supreme court, state senate and state house.

Which races are front and centre?

The special election for one of Ohio’s two US Senate seats and the race to replace Republican Governor Mike DeWine have attracted the most attention due to their ties to national politics.

In the gubernatorial race, Trump-backed former presidential candidate and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is facing off against internet personality Casey Putsch for the Republican nomination.

That race could test how much influence Trump still holds as a potential kingmaker with Republican voters.

The Ohio Senate race is also essential for the Democratic Party’s hopes of recapturing the US Senate, where Republicans currently hold a slim majority, in November. Former US Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, is seeking to return to the Senate after losing his seat to a Republican challenger in 2024.

Who are the candidates for governor?

Amy Acton, the former head of Ohio’s Department of Health, is running unopposed in the Democratic gubernatorial primary and will face the Republican primary winner in November.

The Republican primary is more contested. While Ramaswamy has emerged as the party’s frontrunner, he faces a challenge from the populist right by Putsch, an auto racing engineer and right-wing political commentator.

Putsch, who the Associated Press reported had less than $9,000 in his campaign account at the end of April compared with $31m for his rival, has pitched himself as a more earnest representative of Trump’s “America First” ideology than Ramaswamy.

Ramaswamy has the endorsement of the state Republican Party as well as Trump himself, who called him “young, strong, and smart” while offering his “complete and total endorsement” in a social media post in November.

A third Republican candidate, Heather Hill, was disqualified after her running mate for lieutenant governor withdrew from the race, after the two spent several days exchanging insults over social media. Her name will still appear on the ballot, but her votes will not be counted.

Who is running for the US Senate?

The US Senate race in Ohio is expected to be one of the closest of the midterms and an important step towards the Democratic Party’s goal of snatching the majority from Republicans.

The special election will fill a Senate seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance, who was elected as Trump’s running mate in 2024.

Jon Husted, who was appointed to fill the seat temporarily after Vance stepped down, is running as the incumbent, unchallenged Republican candidate.

Former Senator Sherrod Brown, who lost his 2024 re-election race to Republican challenger Bernie Moreno, is considered the frontrunner in the Democratic primary.

He is facing Ron Kincaid for the Democratic nomination, but maintains a strong fundraising and name recognition advantage. Polls anticipate a tight race between Brown, considered the presumptive Democratic nominee, and Husted in November.

Do people need an ID to vote?

Ohio requires voters to show a form of identification, including a state driver’s licence, state ID card, passport, or military ID card.

IDs must be current and include a photograph and the voter’s name as it appears on the poll list to be accepted.

Republican lawmakers have long called for more stringent voter identification requirements, which they say are essential to safeguarding election integrity.

There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the US, but President Trump and his allies have used false claims of rampant illegal voting to push for greater restrictions on access to voting, including through methods such as mail-in ballots.

Who can vote?

Any registered voter can participate in any party’s primary elections. The state does not register voters by party, but considers voters affiliated with the party if they participate in its primary.

Iranian officials have responded to accusations that Tehran launched a barrage of missiles and drones at the UAE, setting an oil refinery ablaze. Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar says comments from Iran’s foreign minister and military leaders neither confirm nor deny responsibility.

The incident is the latest test of a fragile ceasefire agreed between the two countries last month.

Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has accused neighbouring Pakistan of killing three civilians in a cross-border attack, which Kabul has condemned as a “war crime”.

The incident on Monday marked the latest test of a fragile ceasefire between the two countries, brokered by China in April, following months of cross-border fighting that left hundreds dead and injured.

Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, said on X that 14 others were injured in the attack. He accused Islamabad of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, including homes, schools, a health centre, and mosques in Dangam, Kunar province, which lies along the border with Pakistan.

Islamabad has dismissed the allegations. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting suggested Kabul may have staged the destruction, saying in a post on X that images released by Afghanistan showed damage inconsistent with artillery strikes. It said the incident could be part of a “propaganda effort” to discredit Pakistan, following cross-border attacks in March and April that killed nine people and that Islamabad blamed on its neighbour.

The rise in tensions comes as one person was killed late on Monday in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border, when security forces foiled a suicide attack at a checkpoint.

Several others were injured as security personnel opened fire on the attacker’s car, which was packed with explosives and heading towards a military post. The vehicle exploded before reaching its target.

Director of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) Muhammad Amir Rana told Al Jazeera that Pakistan faces multiple challenges in carrying out cross-border attacks.

“Precision is a real problem for Pakistan when it comes to its cross-border strikes. Effective and foolproof intelligence is the critical missing link – without it, controlling collateral damage becomes the central challenge. What we are also seeing is that Pakistan’s security situation has worsened considerably since the war on Iran began on February 28,” he said.

Rana added he was not hopeful of a diplomatic breakthrough anytime soon.

“Pakistan’s diplomatic capital is growing and it is not willing to offer any concessions to Kabul, while the Afghan side is asking why it should concede anything,” he said.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of harbouring Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a Pakistani offshoot of the Afghan Taliban that is waging an armed rebellion against the government. Kabul denies the accusation.