From DEMOCRACY AND PUBLIC POLICY NETWORK AT BGSU
The Democracy and Public Policy Network at Bowling Green State University has released the
findings of its “First 100 Days” poll, a web-based poll of 800 registered Ohio voters conducted
from April 18-24, 2025.
The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4.08 percentage points and is weighted to 2020 and 2024
presidential vote choice, as well as a four-way stratification of gender, age, race, and education.
Five hundred and sixty-five of the respondents were recontacted from the February
BGSU/YouGov poll, with the remaining 235 respondents drawn from a fresh sample.
The poll was conducted under the direction of BGSU professors Dr. Robert Alexander, Dr.
Melissa K. Miller, Dr. David Jackson, and Dr. Joshua Boston in partnership with YouGov.
Trump approval slips among Ohio voters in first 100 days
At the 100-day mark, we find President Donald Trump’s net approval has slipped seven points
from our February poll. He has moved from a +6 favorable (50-44) to a -1 unfavorable (47-48).
When asked to evaluate his first 100 days, 44% said it has been worse than expected, 32%
better than expected, and 24% indicate it has been about what they expected. Forty-five percent
of respondents say they are personally more anxious with Trump as president and 36% are less
anxious. Nearly half of respondents (49%) believe the country is less respected with Trump as
president, while 42% say the country is more respected.
“Consistent with many national polls, we find that Trump has lost considerable support
over his first 100 days, suggesting his honeymoon was short-lived. Having a net
negative favorability rating in a state he won by 11 points should be of concern for
Trump nationwide. If his numbers continue to slide, we can expect the hopes of
Democrats in Ohio to increase as they look to the 2026 election.” – Robert Alexander,
professor of political science, BGSU
Ohioans are weary of Trump tariff policies
We do not find great support for Trump’s tariff policies among respondents. Only 25% believe
these policies will personally help them, while 51% believe they will personally hurt them. Forty-
nine percent believe these policies will hurt the United States, with 38% indicating they believe
they will help the United States. Respondents overwhelmingly think the tariffs will benefit the
wealthy (66%) and large corporations (60%), while large majorities believe that small
businesses (59%), the middle class (58%), the working class (58%), labor unions (58%), and
the United States automobile industry (54%) do not stand to benefit from these tariff policies.
“No matter how you look at it, Ohio voters do not like what they are seeing with Trump’s
tariff policies. They fear they will suffer personally and that the country will be hurt by
them, too. The perception among a large majority of Ohioans is that the tariffs will only
benefit the wealthy and large corporations.” – Robert Alexander, professor of political
science, BGSU
Ramaswamy is early Republican favorite, but Tressel and Yost both top Democratic
opponents in head-to-heads
Vivek Ramaswamy continues to hold a wide lead for the Republican nomination to succeed
Mike DeWine as Ohio’s next governor. Although he has not declared an intention to run for the
office, given his recent appointment as Ohio’s Lieutenant Governor, we included former Ohio
State football coach Jim Tressel as a prospective candidate. Among Republican primary voters,
Ramaswamy is the top choice for 64%, Tressel is at 14%, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost
garners 13%, and Heather Hill comes in at 4%.
Among Democrats, former Director of the Ohio Department of Health Amy Acton is the only
declared candidate for governor. When asked who they would prefer to be their nominee,
former US Senator Sherrod Brown comes out on top among Democratic primary voters at 59%,
with Acton coming in second with 20% and former US Congressman Tim Ryan garnering 16%.
In head-to-head matchups, Ramaswamy holds a 5-point margin over Acton (50-45), while
Tressel holds a 2-point margin over her (46-44), and Yost holds a 1-point margin over her (46-
45). In prospective US Senate matchups, Republican Jon Husted tops Sherrod Brown 49-46
and Ryan 50-44.
In the Ohio Senate race, Republican Jon Husted leads 49-46 over Sherrod Brown and 50-44
over Tim Ryan. Neither Brown nor Ryan have announced their intention to run for the seat.
“While Vivek Ramaswamy continues to hold a wide lead for the Republican nomination,
fellow Republicans Jim Tressel and Dave Yost also top Democrat Amy Acton in our
hypothetical head-to-heads, suggesting they could also be potentially strong candidates
in the general election. With that said, Ramaswamy is the only one whose lead against
Acton is outside the poll’s margin of error.” – Robert Alexander, professor of political
science, BGSU
Distrust in government on the rise
Since February, distrust in the federal government has been on the rise. The percentage of
Ohio voters who believe the federal government can never be trusted increased from 22 to 26.
Amongst Republicans, this increase in distrust was slight (2 points) and within the margin of
error. Among Democrats the increase was higher (5 points) and still higher among
independents (8 points).
Trust in state government in Ohio was more stable. The percentage of people who believe the
state government can never be trusted changed from 13% to 16% between February and April.
At the other end of the spectrum, 17% reported trusting the state government to do what’s right
all or most of the time in both waves of the survey.
Federal government institutions mostly fared better than their state counterparts in April when
we asked respondents which could be trusted most to “do what is right.” The President of the
United States fared best and was chosen by 30% of Ohio voters, followed by the US Supreme
Court (26%), the Ohio Supreme Court (14%), the Ohio governor (12%), the US Congress
(10%), and the Ohio legislature (8%).
“While rising distrust in the federal government among Ohio Democrats is not particularly
surprising, the 8-point increase in distrust among independents between February and
April could have real consequences. Independents tend to be the holy grail in US
elections.” – Melissa K. Miller, professor of political science, BGSU
A mixed bag for Trump administration policies
Of 19 Trump administration policies tested in April, three garnered majority support, five
garnered plurality support, four elicited majority opposition, and four elicited plurality opposition.
One policy yielded support from exactly 50 percent of Ohio voters, and two were essentially ties
between support and opposition.
Trump administration policies eliciting majority support were: federal recognition of only two
sexes, male and female (59% support); a 10 percent tariff on China (57% support); and
declaring a national emergency at the southern border (52% support).
Half of Ohio voters support ending remote work policies for federal employees.
Policies eliciting plurality support were: banning TikTok unless it is sold to a non-Chinese
company (49% support); ending federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (48% support);
a federal hiring freeze (46% support); removing federal regulations on offshore oil drilling (45%
support); and allowing use of TikTok regardless of company ownership (42% support).
Majority opposition was recorded for renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America (57%
opposed); imposing 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico (56% opposed); withdrawing from
the World Health Organization (53% opposed); and pardoning January 6 rioters (52% opposed).
Plurality opposition was recorded for an additional four policy positions, on which the Trump
administration was also underwater: renaming Denali in Alaska to Mount McKinley (13 points
underwater), ending birthright citizenship (8 points underwater), reducing energy efficiency
regulations for appliances (7 points underwater), and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord
(5 points underwater).
“Despite the Republican ticket’s double-digit victory in Ohio in 2024, Trump
administration policies appear to be a mixed bag in the Buckeye State at the 100-day
mark.” – Melissa K. Miller, professor of political science, BGSU.
Full April poll results include:
